By ROBERT CESSNA
The thinner Danielle Adams gets, the bigger she plays.
Adams recorded only the second triple-double in school history in Texas A&M's 69-54 victory over the Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena.
The 6-foot-1 junior college transfer scored 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 10 shots -- all season-high efforts in her short Aggie career. Her all-around play allowed the ninth-ranked Aggies (15-2, 3-1) to stay one game back of seventh-ranked Nebraska (17-0, 4-0) in the Big 12 standings.
A hustling Adams blocked a pair of layup attempts in the final minute to become the 10th Big 12 woman with a triple-double, also establishing the school record for blocks. Those left in the crowd of 7,279 gave Adams a rousing ovation when it was announced.
"I was surprised when they said that," a smiling Adams said. "I thought I had the rebounds and the points, but I didn't know I had 10 blocks."
She wasn't the only one.
"That was pretty ridiculous," A&M point guard Sydney Colson said. "I don't think anybody realized she had that many blocks. I think a lot of her play goes unnoticed. She does a lot of stuff we haven't always gotten from a [post] player."
Such as driving 65 feet for a layup after stealing the ball from Tech point guard Kierra Mallard. Adams also was fouled and completed the three-point play.
"I knew she was about to cross over [on the dribble] and go to her right hand, so I tried to stick my hand in there and get the ball and just took it full court," said Adams, who was making her first Big 12 start.
She couldn't have made that play a month ago. Adams, who transferred from Jefferson College, weighed 290 pounds when school started. Her conditioning had been slowed by a pulled hamstring.
She was in good enough shape to score 24 points in a season-opening 95-77 victory over then-No. 6 Duke, but her conditioning suffered another setback when she hit her head while taking a charge against North Texas on Dec. 8. She missed the next game recovering from concussion-like symptoms.
But thanks to being willing to work out three times daily she's down to 256 pounds, which allowed her to play a team-high 35 minutes against Tech.
"I didn't even know I played 35 minutes," Adams said. "I've just been conditioning hard, working hard, getting extra running in. I'm pretty impressed I played 35 minutes with a triple-double. I feel a lot better."
She looked it. She hit 11 of 17 field goals, including a pair of shots just inside the 3-point line.
"She's just a big kid," Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry said. "It's hard when you're that big to get around to defend. Not only can she hurt you down low, but she can face up."
She's also good at anticipating. Adams blocked one shot after getting knocked down. She bounced up and took a perfect angle to the shooter.
"She just kept gettin' better and better," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "She'd make a few mistakes, but the kid is just a good basketball player who understands the game."
Adams, though, was a non-factor in A&M's 10-0 run to start the game as Colson scored seven points. Tech missed four shots and turned the ball over three times, with standout senior Jordan Murphree having two turnovers and two misses.
Murphree, coming off a career-high 29 points in a 95-90 double-overtime loss to Texas, didn't score. She missed nine shots, had four turnovers and played only 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
Murphree was called for a charge on her first drive to the basket. That upset Curry, who took a timeout to berate official Lawson Newton, who gave Curry a technical.
"If you come in here passive, your kids are going to be passive," Curry said. "You have to come out and be aggressive."
Her Lady Raiders (13-5, 1-3) battled back to cut A&M's lead to 20-16 as Colson and senior guard Tanisha Smith battled foul trouble. The disjointed Aggies had 13 turnovers in the first half.
Smith bounced back for 10 second-half points to finish with 13.
Tech was led by senior Ashley Roberson, who followed up her career-high 29 points against Texas with 22 on 10-of-22 shooting against A&M.
A&M's pressure forced 18 turnovers and allowed Tech to shoot only 33.9 percent, including 0 for 8 on 3-pointers.
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NOTES -- Tech senior guard Tilmila Martin, who starred at Bryan High, had eight points in 31 minutes. ... Adams is Blair's first player in 25 years of coaching to get a triple-double that included blocks. Guard Toccara Williams had A&M's other triple-double, in 2002 (13 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). ... The school record for blocks had been seven, set by Morenike Atunrase and Damitria Buchanan.
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