Staff and Wire Report
Arizona State shot a blistering 31 for 50 on field-goal attempts in the Trenton Regional semifinals to upset the ninth-ranked Aggies, ending their season and denying A&M a much-anticipated showdown with top-ranked Connecticut.
A&M had won nine of its last 11, 19th-ranked ASU scored the most points against the Aggies in almost three seasons with precision-like execution. That allows sixth-seeded ASU (26-8) to face UConn (36-0) on Tuesday night for a trip to the Final Four.
"Our kids are just a little disappointed today because that's not the best that we have," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "Hopefully that was the best that Arizona State had because I don't think they can play any better than what they did. The kids stepped up and that's what this is all about."
January, a 5-foot-8 junior, was ASU's top marksman. She hit 8 of 10 shots and often came up with the big play to thwart the Aggies any time they appeared ready to catch the Sun Devils, who never trailed after the opening minute.
January had five assists and two steals and hit all six free throws as the Sun Devils were 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.
"The game was won at the point guard position," Blair said. "January was every bit as good as we thought and better offensively."
Arizona State was playing without senior point guard Dymond Simon, who injured her left knee March 7. Simon, the team's leading scorer, warmed up and tried to convince the Sun Devil training staff she was ready, but the medical staff wouldn't release her.
"With us losing Dymond, it's made us come together and be more cohesive on the court," January said.
January, who has taken over at the point, teamed up with Danielle Orsillo and Kate Engelbrecht to frustrate A&M's defense, which had forced 62 turnovers in blowout NCAA victories over Evansville and Minnesota.
"I cannot tell you how many times they hit a shot with 3, 2, or 1 second to go [on the shot clock]," Blair said. "Kids stepped up and made plays. That's what you do at this level and every time we thought we were at great positions to make a stop or we finally did make a miss, they got an offensive rebound or putback."
Arizona State had 18 turnovers, but A&M was only able to convert them into 17 points. The Sun Devils were able to turn 17 turnovers into 22 points as they shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half and 62 percent in the second half in their best shooting game of the season.
Kansas was the only opponent to shot better than 50 percent against the Aggies prior to Sunday's game. The Jayhawks shot 56.4 percent and lost at Reed Arena.
A&M sophomore Sydney Colson and freshman Sydney Carter couldn't contain January, so Blair had to move senior offguard Takia Starks to the point.
"That really hurt our chemistry in there because we were not running very good on offense, without a true point guard in there," Blair said.
Starks scored 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting, but missed all four 3-pointers. Junior wing Tanisha Smith kept A&M close with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She added five steals and only one turnover in 39 minutes. Danielle Gant added 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Arizona State also had three score in double figures. Orsillo had 15 points on the strength of two 3-pointers and 7-of-7 shooting at the free-throw line. Lauren Lacey came off the bench for 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in only 17 minutes.
The Sun Devils had nine players with at least 13 minutes as they had a 26-12 edge in bench points. Arizona State's depth and offensive execution dictated the tempo. The Sun Devils were just a 3-pointer away from matching the combined points of A&M's first two NCAA Tournament foes.
"We have never had a team score in the 80s on us this whole year," A&M senior center La Toya Micheaux said. "We're used to keeping it in the 50s and 60s. Coach always mentioned, if you keep them to 60 you can win and tonight we didn't do that."
Micheaux, Starks and Gant were the first women in school history to play in four NCAA Tournaments, also posting a school-best 104-32 record.
"This year we fell kind of short of last year," Starks said. "That's OK. They'll be back next year. We had a great run, a great four years. I've loved the atmosphere. Today, we just dropped one."
The trio helped A&M reach the Elite Eight last season, losing to eventual national champ Tennessee in a dandy game that the Aggies led with 6 minutes to go.
"Today, the better team stepped up," Blair said. "I thought our game plan was good, obviously if we can shoot [48.3] percent. I wasn't real happy with some of our turnovers, but most of them were unforced turnovers. It's just a disappointing way to go out because last year when we played Tennessee we had a great chance to win and we didn't do it."
Arizona State had a 30-21 edge in rebounds, blocked four shots, came up with 11 steals and allowed A&M to hit only one 3-pointer in eight tries.
"I didn't think anyone could just flat win all the hustle points," Blair said. "I think they did. In the second half, when we made our run to come back, they started releasing post players and sent them to the boards.
"You look at the easy baskets that they got and you look at how hard we had to work for [ours].
"We hurt ourselves with missed opportunities after we forced turnovers. They did a good job of picking us apart just on slips, offensive boards, us making mistakes. All credit to Arizona State because they executed. They were a better basketball team today."
The Sun Devils did not ice the game until the final three minutes, when they used a 7-2 run to push their lead to 10 points.
A&M got as close as a point early in the second half and was still within three when Starks hit two free throws with 7:12 left to go to close the gap to 68-65.
After Sybil Dosty missed two free throws for Arizona State, the Aggies had a chance to close the gap, but Starks turned the ball over and January hit a driving layup.
"That was one of the biggest daggers we had right there," Blair said.
Texas A&M would miss two more shots and turn the ball over again, and Kayli Murphy pushed the Sun Devils' lead to 72-65 with a layup.
The Aggies got within five points on two other occasions before Arizona State sealed it.
"We're a program with a team that doesn't have a lot of swag but has a quiet confidence," Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We believe in ourselves. We can outwork teams. We're a great basketball team. We choose to do the things we're capable of doing. I felt like at the beginning of the year we can win championships."
Both teams gave the crowd of 6,461 in the Sovereign Bank Arena who hung around after UConn beat California an exciting first half.
The Sun Devils took a 42-37 lead, hitting 16 of 24 shots from the field. January had 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting. Smith hit a 15-foot jumper just before the buzzer to cap a 16-of-29 shooting effort for the Aggies.
A&M had a chance to take the lead early in the second half after pulling within 42-41, but January rebounded her first miss and scored. Gant turned the ball over and Engelbrecht hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to six. A few minutes later it was 55-53 and Starks turned it over with Orsillo hitting a 3.
"It's just their time," Blair said. "I told our basketball team I'm not disappointed in our effort or anything. Sometimes I was disappointed in our decision making."
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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: CONGRATS
I don't follow basketball too closely but do know the dedication and work you had to put in to get this far. A lot of teams in the nation could only watch while you played on. You should forever be proud of your efforts and the contributions you made to this program and athletics at this fine university.
Posted by: SiValleyAg68 On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: Congratulations on a great year!
There are days when nothing seems to go your way. That seemed to be the day. I couldn't believe how the shots just wouldn't go in. That was the main difference. Of course their depth with it's ability to run faster helped, especially when they got on a roll. I was impressed with their defensive rebounding, too. When the Aggies missed a shot - they were there with the rebound. I only remember one Aggie put-back. Anyway, it was a great year, ladies, and you made us proud. THANKS!!! and Gig`em
Posted by: Pablo On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: Good job women & Coach Blair
That was heart wrenching, because we were sooo much better than that.. Got to funnel that into a monster next year.
Posted by: Houstonag On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: Scorhing
Good run ladies. Those who move on try to finish all you have started. Those who remain I recommend that you listen to your coach and do some off season development. Great job.
Posted by: Aggie in Austin On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: Aggie in Austin
I congratulate the A&M women's basketball team for a GREAT year and season! They have worked so hard and played so hard. I wish the graduating seniors all the luck in the world. And the players coming back next year I know will be ready. Coach Blair and his staff are doing a great job. Look at the out of staters he is recruiting. I sure hope he can add Kelsey Bone to his list, but even if he cannot, we have some great new players coming next year. Coach Blair, stay with us! You are GREAT!
Posted by: Greg Harvey (Class of '83, Marion, Iowa) On: 3/30/2009
Comment Title: Congratulations
It was a great season even if it ended more abruptly than hoped. Our seniors played their hearts out all year and will be missed both for their leadership and for their character as women both in the classroom and on the court. Thanks ladies, for being ambassadors for the Spirit of Aggieland to the rest of the country. And thanks, Coach Blair and your staff, for setting high expectations and never settling for what is easily achievable.