By ROBERT CESSNAThe Texas A&M women's basketball program said farewell to a record-setting senior class Tuesday night, but between rounds of applause and tears of joy, head coach Gary Blair challenged his returning players to keep the winning tradition alive.
"Will the next class bring us the consistency, the heart, character and class that these seniors brought us?" Blair said. "It always starts with leadership. You blend in talent, the 12th Man, coaching, an incredible work ethic and you can be the best you can be."
Seniors Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux and Takia Starks helped A&M do that to the tune of a school-record 104-32, which included four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. A fourth senior, Kiley Finstad, was a junior-college transfer who worked her way up from the men's practice team to walk-on to scholarship player.
Finstad said there's not a better organization to prepare her for life than the time she spent with the program.
Gant said she had no idea why associate head coach Vic Schaefer hollered at her so much during her freshman and sophomore season. She said she even called her mother for advice, But now as a senior, she's just thankful for all his guidance.
Micheaux said Schaefer has been like a second father, showing her the true value of what an Aggie is. She said the championships were great, but what she'll remember most is the bonding with her teammates off the court.
Starks, whose father has been battling cancer, was thankful for all the support that helped make her a well-rounded athlete and individual. She's looking forward to coming back for more victory celebrations in the near future.
Starks broke the scoring record of Lisa Branch, A&M's first All-American in women's basketball. Branch, who played from 1992-96, wrote a congratulatory letter to Starks, which Blair read. Branch was just excited that Starks had helped elevate the program to national status.
Starks and Gant picked up the most hardware and kudos from a few hundred fans in the Zone Club.
They shared the team's Most Valuable Player Award on a 27-8 team that reached the Sweet 16. Gant, who was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year, was the team's Miss Defense MVP Award winner. Starks grabbed the Miss Offense Award. Gant was drafted by the Chicago Sky in the second round of the 2009 WNBA Draft last week. She was picked 16th, the highest in school history.
Starks also was cited for being the school-record holder for career field goals (783), career 3-pointers (178) and career points (1,977). A painting by Benjamin Knox was unveiled of Starks' game-winning shot in the 57-56 victory over Oklahoma on Big Monday on Feb. 23.
Other award winners were freshman Kelsey Assarian, Most Improved; Sydney Carter, Sixth Man; Syndey Colson, Miss Aggie; Tanisha Smith, who won the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year Award, won the same honor for the Aggies; Maryann Baker, Miss Hustle; Damitria Buchanan and Katrina Limbaugh, who were first-team All-Big 12 All-Academic, shared the Team Academic; and Buckey and Carolyn Turk, Season's Greatest Fans.
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Posted by: UTfan On: 4/16/2009
Comment Title: Congrats
Quality wins for a quality team. A&M football should learn from these girls. A&M football....where are you? lONG LIVE THE TEXAS RIVALRY! HOOK 'EM
