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A&M women taking Hartford seriously

Published Monday, March 24, 2008 5:20 AM

By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

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<p>A&M women taking Hartford seriously</p>

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Texas A&M has worked too hard in earning a school-record No. 2 seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament to overlook Monday night's opponent, the No. 10 seed Hartford Hawks.

"You have to give your opponent respect," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "I know what it's like being a No. 9 seed, because we were the lowest-seeded team -- at Arkansas -- that ever got to the Final Four in '98."

In the history of the tournament, No. 10 seeds are only 4-23 in the second round.

"I want to make sure that doesn't happen [again]," Blair said.

So does his team, which is one of the hottest in the country. A&M has won 10 straight games and 14 of its last 15.

The Aggies are trying to shake off recent NCAA Tournament disappointments -- A&M was upset two years ago by Texas Christian as the No. 6 seed, then last year as the No. 4 seed lost to No. 5 seed George Washington in the second round after struggling to beat No. 13 seed Texas-Arlington.

"We've been here [three] years straight, and we know what to expect," senior point guard A'Quonesia Franklin said. "We're not just happy to be here, but we're here for business."

The Aggies (27-7) looked it in a 91-52 first-round victory over Texas-San Antonio on Saturday, forcing 30 turnovers and having four players score in double figures.

"They're one of the best man-to-man [defensive] teams in the country," Hartford head coach Jennifer Rizzotti said. "It's going to be a battle, and we're going to have to be ready for it."

Hartford (28-5), which won the America East Conference tournament, advanced with a 59-55 victory over Syracuse. That was the Hawks' 10th straight victory and 19th in the last 20 games.

"I think we're going to have one of the best second-round games around," Blair said.

A&M has reached the Sweet 16 only once, in 1994. The Hawks have never made the Sweet 16, falling to Georgia in 2006 in their lone second-round game.

"[A Sweet 16 appearance] can do wonders for the exposure of our program and what we're trying to do to get to the NCAAs every year," Rizzotti said. "And not only get there, but be a team that wins in it."

NOTES -- Both teams set school records for victories in a season last time out. ... Blair compares the fiery Rizzotti to Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. Rizzotti, who is pregnant, was on the 1996 U.S. Jones Cup Team coached by Blair. ... A&M senior Katy Pounds, who took a medical redshirt this year because of knee surgeries, will be on the bench. She did commentary for the radio broadcasts on road games this season, but she wants to be on the bench during the postseason. ... Kansas is the lone common opponent between A&M and Hartford. Hartford lost to the Jayhawks 76-72 to open the season, while the Aggies grabbed a 58-51 victory at Kansas on Jan. 26. That win ended A&M's 1-4 start in Big 12 Conference play. ... Hartford's MaryLynne Schaefer hit a go-ahead 3-pointer against Syracuse with 13 seconds left Saturday. She said she had 10 to 12 text messages from family and friends congratulating her. ... Rizzotti said her coaching staff is more prepared for the second round than two years ago. "We had been watching tape on Texas A&M before we played Syracuse -- not me, but someone on my staff -- to make sure we were prepared and ready," she said. ... Hartford placed Danielle Hood and Erica Beverly on the all-conference first team. Diana Delva was on the second team. ... Hartford averages five 3-pointers and 14.3 turnovers per game.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

TEXAS A&M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

NO. 2 TEXAS A&M VS. NO. 10 HARTFORD

NCAA SECOND ROUND

WHEN/WHERE: 8:30 p.m. Monday in Baton Rouge, La.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2, Ch. 28/KZNE, 1150 AM

RECORDS: A&M (27-7), Hartford (28-5)

TEXAS A&M-HARTFORD LINEUPS

NO. 2 TEXAS A&M (27-7)

NAME POS. HT. CLASS PPG RPG

Takia Starks G 5-8 Jr. 16.8 4.5

A'Quonesia Franklin G 5-3 Sr. 7.8 *4.8