SEATTLE -- Gonzaga has earned Texas A&M's attention, which might not be good for the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga has won 19 straight games since A&M grabbed an 80-76 victory Dec. 20 in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Bulldogs say that was the season's turning point. Gonzaga, coming off a 70-49 thumping against Baylor, almost erased a 19-point halftime deficit.
The 14th-ranked Bulldogs have been rolling since, right into Monday night's NCAA tournament second-round game against the ninth-ranked Aggies.
Gonzaga will have what amounts to a home crowd with Spokane just 275 miles away. That's a huge edge. The Zags also feel at home at Bank of America Arena, where they won the school's first NCAA tournament game last year.
The problem for the Bulldogs is the Aggies make the most of first-hand knowledge. A&M is 6-2 this season in rematches, and the tougher the opponent, the better the Aggies play.
Oklahoma rolled to a 74-65 victory in its first meeting against A&M, but the Aggies won the two rematches. Against Nebraska, A&M allowed the Cornhuskers to hit a trio of 3-pointers early in the first meeting and Nebraska never trailed in a 71-60 victory. The second meeting was all Aggies in an 80-70 victory in the Big 12 tournament semifinals that stopped Nebraska's 30-game winning streak.
The adjustments that A&M's coaching staff made for Oklahoma and Nebraska are typical during this run of five straight NCAA tournament appearances. A&M is 29-9 in rematches over those seasons, which is why the Aggies have earned three straight No. 2 seeds.
It's also why A&M has a huge edge in the Gonzaga rematch. This game matters. The Aggies are focused on getting to Sacramento and playing top-seeded Stanford. The only way to get to California is through the Bulldogs.
A&M certainly has the team to do it. Head coach Gary Blair has his best offensive team in seven seasons. He's used his wealth of knowledge to mold it into a unit that's keyed A&M's late-season surge with 10 victories in 11 games, six of them against ranked teams.
A&M was good enough offensively to grab a 51-32 halftime lead in the first meeting with Gonzaga, but the Aggies are much better now. A&M's combination of Sydney Carter and Sydney Colson at point guard were just 3 of 12 shooting in that game, with six turnovers and only six assists. They've been stellar down the stretch.
Junior post Danielle Adams, the team's leading scorer, started against Gonzaga. She exclusively comes off the bench now along with Colson to supply instant offense. Sophomore forward Adaora Elonu started the first 10 games of the season, but was struggling and didn't start against Gonzaga. She's found her niche now, starting the last 10 games and scoring in double digits in half of them.
Still, it's not just about the offense when it comes to rematches for the Aggies.
You also can bet that A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer, who is in charge of the defense, has made adjustments. This isn't one of A&M's best defensive teams, yet A&M has been solid on that end of the floor in recent games.
The most points the Aggies have allowed in a game since Gonzaga has been 74, in a loss to Oklahoma on Jan. 17. Only Nebraska has been able to crack 70 points against A&M since.
But forget Xs and Os. The biggest adjustments the Aggies might make from the first meeting are mental.
Before the first Gonzaga game, A&M was coming off a 72-62 victory over then-No. 14 Arizona State, the team that ended A&M's NCAA tournament run last year with an 84-69 victory. The Aggies wanted to atone in the rematch, and did in a big way.
Then, 24 hours later against unranked Gonzaga, the Aggies jumped to such a large lead it allowed Blair to substitute early. Gonzaga, to its credit, rallied and almost won.
You can't predict what will happen in the rematch, but you can be sure A&M remembers that first meeting. And that's not good for Gonzaga.
A&M WOMEN'S HOOPS
* Monday's game: No. 14 Gonzaga (28-4, 14-0 in the West Coast) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (26-7, 10-6 in the Big 12), 8:30 p.m. Bank of America Arena, Seattle.
* TV/radio: ESPN2, Ch. 28/KZNE, 1150 AM
LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M (26-7)
NAMEPOS.HT.CL.PPGRPG
Sydney CarterG5-6So.7.73.5*
Tanisha SmithF6-0Sr.15.1 5.5
Tyra WhiteG6-0So.10.54.2
Adaora ElonuF6-1So.8.9 4.8
Damitria Buchanan F6-2 Sr.2.94.1
GONZAGA (28-4)
NAMEPOS.HT.CL.PPGRPG
Courtney VanderslootG5-8Jr.14.59.5*
Janelle Bekkering G6-0Jr.4.93.2
Tiffanie ShivesG5-10 Sr.8.3 2.4
Vivian FriesonF6-0Sr.12.37.4
Heather Bowman F6-2Sr.15.55.6
*assists per game
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