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Updated March 9, 2007 8:16 AM
Photos: A&M-Iowa State slideshow |
A&M-ISU: Cyclone women upset Aggies
Notebook: A look behind the A&M-ISU game | Roundup: Oklahoma advances to final
OKLAHOMA CITY - Coach Gary Blair and his Texas A&M women's basketball team will have to wait at least a year to take a group photo in front of the 100-foot Big 12 Tournament bracket that blankets the side of the Cox Convention Center. Blair said he had that photo op all lined up if the Aggies would have made the final. But Iowa State ruined that plan and earned a berth into the championship game with a solid, well-executed 40 minutes of basketball in a 57-51 victory over the top-seeded Aggies on Thursday. The 13th-ranked Aggies will have to settle for hitting the practice court hard, then enjoying the moment when they hear their name announced Monday night during the NCAA Tournament selection show. And then they get to figure out how to beat the zone defense their opponent will be playing in the first round of the NCAAs. And it will be a zone. Give Blair credit for giving others credit, admitting straight up and immediately that his team was outplayed. Blair said Iowa State deserved to celebrate what is the second-longest winning streak in the nation at eight games. The streak began in Ames, Iowa, when the Cyclones beat A&M 61-54. While they had less trouble with the Aggies, the Cyclones were only on the court because a last-second 3-pointer by Lyndsey Medders sent their quarterfinal game with Nebraska into overtime Wednesday night. They quickly got over the emotion of that victory and settled into playing the type of basketball that has given A&M fits in big games. On defense, that meant a zone that played out far enough to force A&M to attack from the inside-out. A&M found ways to get the ball inside, but the Aggies never could get it back out in time to give their 3-point shooters enough open looks. A&M was 3 of 11 from behind the arc in the second half. At the end, when the Aggies needed to get off a 3-pointer quickly, Iowa State forced A&M into wasting valuable seconds searching for someone to shoot a trey. The Aggies were down by more than two possessions throughout the final 3 minutes, yet they attempted just two 3-pointers, both misses and both in the final 46 seconds. Iowa State had to work hard against A&M's pressure defense, but the Cyclones' patience paid off, first in 3-pointers and then with backdoor cuts and short jumpers nearer the basket. During a stretch that covered the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, the Cyclones hit nothing but 3s, eight of them by five different players. If an Aggie dropped off their defensive assignment to help with penetration, the Cyclones found the uncovered player, got the ball to her and hustled back on defense after she drained the 3-pointer. The familiar pattern allowed ISU to go from four points down to leading 43-35 before A&M adjusted. And then the Cyclones adjusted better, making five baskets by getting the ball inside or on backdoor plays. Iowa State had 19 turnovers. Medders, their senior leader, was responsible for six and joked later that the team was better off with Heather Ezzell and Alison Lacey handling the ball a majority of the time in final quarter of the game, when Medders set in foul trouble. Coach Bill Fennelly, who has won the most career Big 12 Championship games at 18, wouldn't go that far. Medders is the heart, soul and the most skilled player on the Cyclones' squad. She still ran the offense, an offense that even when bad did the right thing. The turnovers were the kind that stopped the clock and never let A&M score quickly off of them or make a run. "We were willing to take 5-second counts rather than give them the ball on the run," Fennelly said. Because of that tactic, A&M had no fastbreak points, which is a huge part of the Aggies' offense, especially when the alternative is setting up in the half court against the zone. "We told our players if there was any doubt, to take a 5-second count and then go guard in the half court," Fennelly said. For one game, that's what it took. And that patience kept the Cyclones in the picture for the tournament title. The Aggies, meanwhile, will have to wait for their Kodak moment.
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