By ROBERT CESSNATexas A&M's Danielle Adams, Tanisha Smith and Tyra White cut down the nets Sunday in their hometown of Kansas City after winning the Big 12 tournament. Each player was instrumental in continuing a late-season surge that has earned the women's basketball program its third straight No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament.
The Kansas City trio rightfully took the main bows last weekend after combing for 134 points over A&M's three victories, but if the K.C. three did the net-cutting, you can bet Sydney Colson held the ladder and Sydney Carter handed them the scissors. A&M's interchangeable point guards have quietly fueled A&M's late-season surge which includes nine victories in the last 10 games -- six against ranked teams.
The duo was extremely effective as A&M beat three straight Top 15 teams at the Big 12 tournament, a run that encluded an 80-70 victory over Nebraska in the semifinals that stopped the Cornhuskers' 30-game winning streak. They each scored eight points and combined for seven assists against the Huskers.
"We had tremendous guard play by my two Syds early in the game," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "Sometimes you just gotta let 'em go. If you put your thumb on them too much, that's not what you want."
Blair has been able to unleash his guards because they've been healthy.
Colson, who had her right knee surgically repaired before last season, suffered a tear in the lateral meniscus against North Texas on Dec. 8. That didn't knock the junior out of the lineup, but a stress reaction on her left fibula caused her to miss four games.
That forced Blair to start Carter, who suffered a sprained right thumb in her shooting hand before the season started. The sophomore re-injured it against North Texas but hasn't missed any games.
Blair prefers to start Colson with Carter coming off the bench, a rotation that helped the Aggies reach the Sweet 16 last season. But without Colson at 100 percent, they'll continue to switch roles for the rest of the season. Carter will make her first NCAA tournament start against Portland State at 7:06 p.m. Saturday in Seattle.
Carter had started only five of the previous 15 games when she became a full-time starter Feb. 13 against Kansas State with a flair. She played a career-high 37 minutes with a career-high 24 points. She was forced to play more minutes because Colson missed that game and the next one.
Colson returned for a 58-44 victory over Texas and has looked more comfortable each game as her leg gets stronger.
"I think the thing that helps us the most is we're happy to see each other do well," Colson said. "And whenever I was starting, she would watch to see what I was doing that wasn't working, and she would come in and give us instant offense and instant defense. I think it's fabulous that there is no drop-off."
Now it's Colson bringing the instant offense. She's hit 17 of her last 35 field goals, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range. Carter also has been deadly shooting 3-pointers, hitting 14 of 34 in the last 10 games.
"They're streaky shooters," Blair said. "Neither are pure shooters, but they're streaky and they have no fear."
Colson had a busy looking line in the title game against OU -- seven points, seven assists and five turnovers, a couple of them because she was dribbling too fast and lost the ball.
"She's going to make some turnovers that just make my hair blond again," Blair said. "But at the same time, she creates offense, and she's got a no-fear attitude."
Occassionally, Blair will play Carter and Colson at the same time, which allows the Aggies to run better. Neither is hesitant about pulling up and shooting the 3, but they'd rather set up teammates as evidenced by their 72 assists (to just 30 turnovers) in the last 10 games.
"It's just good to have me and Syd playing together and playing well," Carter said.
It also gives A&M a deep bench, which was evident in the Big 12 title game when Oklahoma used only seven players. A&M had eight who played at least 12 minutes.
"We're playing well [and] we're practicing well," Blair said. "We've got depth, and I've got a bench full of scoring options."
The Aggies are averaging 74.3 points per game during their late-season surge, which is 10 points more than it averaged during a five-game stretch where they lost four games to drop out of Big 12 title contention.
The Aggies also have beaten 12th-ranked Oklahoma twice during the stretch after losing to the Sooners in Norman, Okla.
"[A&M] is much more volatile offensively," OU head coach Sherri Coale said. "I think they see themselves more as a scoring team than necessarily a defending team, which is a little bit of a shift in identify for them. Don't get me wrong, they still guard the heck out of you. But they really want to go score it, and they have a lot of people who can."
A&M has seven players averaging at least seven points per game, with Carter (7.8) and Colson (7.0) bringing up the rear. But they've combined for 232 assists and 84 steals.
"We have outstanding guards, and you win with guards," Blair said.
TEXAS A&M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
* NCAA Tournament first-round game: Texas A&M (25-7) vs. Portland St. (18-14), 7:06 p.m. Saturday in Seattle (ESPN2 Ch. 28 and KZNE, 1150 AM)
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