I've been waiting all season to see the type of dominant effort on both sides of the court that reflects a championship-caliber team appear on the court for the A&M women's team. Last night, we finally saw that type of an effort, as the Aggies crushed Kansas State, 67-36. The Aggies used a dominant inside game and their trademark defense to tear apart Kansas State in the paint, and break their will on the opposite end of the floor.

Karla Gilbert and Kelsey Bone each scored 14 points as Coach Gary Blair rotated them in the post all night. Bone and Gilbert were a big part of A&M's dominance in the paint, as they outscored KSU 44-6 inside. The Aggies' defense was ferocious, forcing 23 turnovers, which they converted into 29 points. The Aggies held the distaff Wildcats to 19 points in the first half, and really put the clamps on in the second half, only giving up 17 points. They held the Wildcats to 26% shooting from the floor in the first half, then 20% in the second half. Meanwhle, the Aggies were able to execute their offense with precision, shooting at a scorching 52% for the night.

When our defense is playing well, it is like sharks sensing blood in the water, and the feeding frenzy begins. Last night, for the first time all season, the sharks were eating well. The Aggies move to 17-5 on the season, 8-3 in the Big 12, and second place in the conference standings. The Aggies play undefeated Baylor in Waco on Saturday. After their performance last night, it looks like the Ags are beginning to play well at exactly the right time.

Following their 62-51 win over Kansas on Saturday, the Aggie women's basketball team has now won three games in a row. More importantly, the players seem to have developed the chemistry on the court that has been missing so far this season. The defense has forced a minimum of 20 turnovers their last two games, and at least 18 per game during this win streak. so they are starting to pick up their intensity.

Most exciting for the team is the emergence of Kelsey Bone on offense, who has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, including 26 points in their win over Kansas. With Tyra White, Sydney Carter, and Adaora Elonu on the floor, we have plenty of offensive threats on the floor, but Bone is becoming the offensive force we knew she is capable of being. With Bone being a force in the middle, it opens everything up outside for Carter and White, and allows Elonu room to function in the paint.

Last season, after a loss to Kansas State on March 2, the team realized they had to perform better, came together, and began the run that led to our national championship, suffering only one loss the rest of the season, to Baylor in the conference tournament championship game. I am hopeful we're seeing a similar experience here, where the team is now just beginning to click.

With games coming up against Kansas State on Wednesday and Baylor on Saturday, we're going to find out if we've taken that necessary step to begin turning this season into something special.

Two late free throws by Sydney Carter, her only points in the game, proved to be the difference, as the Aggies hung on to defeat Iowa State, 66-64, earlier today. Carter was 0-4 from the floor today, but hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in the game to seal the win.

Adaora Elonu (19), Tyra White (14), and Kelsey Bone (10) led the Aggies in scoring, as they fought off a game Iowa State team. Iowa State shot 46% from the floor, including 45% from beyond the arc, as the Aggies struggled some on defense. This was a game of runs, and the Aggies were fortunate to step it up on defense at the end, and hold Iowa State without a shot on their last possession, as Nikki Moody apparently thought the shot clock was the game clock, and dribbled out the clock, turning the ball over.

The win moves A&M to 14-5 on the season, 5-3 in conference play. The women play their next game against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Wednesday.

The top 10 ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team notched their first conference win with a 75-58 victory over Oklahoma. The Aggies used a pressure defense and 20 points by Tyra White and 18 points by Kelsey Bone to knock off OU. The Aggies' defense forced 23 turnovers, which they converted into 26 points. Sydney Carter added 15 points and 5 assists, while Adaora Elonu scored 12 points and snagged 10 rebounds.A&M dominated inside, scoring 44 points in the paint, mostly because of the presence of Kelsey Bone.

The win was A&M's sixth consecutive victory over Oklahoma, and moves the Aggies to 1-1 in conference play this season, 10-3 on the season. Oklahoma drops to 9-4, 1-1 in conference play. The Aggies' next game is against texas on Wednesday at Reed Arena.

Kelsey Bone had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Tyra White had 11 and 7, Adaora Elonu had 10 and 4, Adrienne Pratcher had 11 points and 5 assists, and Karla Gilbert had 12 points and 7 rebounds as the Aggies dominated Mississippi State, 93-47, at Reed Arena. The win marked the 600th win of Gary Blair's coaching career, #192 in his time at A&M.

The Aggies used a stifling defense to hold the Bulldogs to 25% shooting from the floor, and forced 18 turnovers. The Aggies held MSU without a field goal for the first 11 minutes of the first half, and had built a 25-6 lead by the time the Bulldogs finally had a shot to go through the hoop. The Aggies had a season high in points score, field goal percentage (55.9), field goals made (38), and rebounds (53), while holding MSU to season lows in scoring, FG percentage, shots made, rebounds, and three point FG percentage (7%).

This game marked the first ever meeting between A&M and Mississippi State in women's basketball, so the Aggies now lead the series, 1-0. The Aggies head to the Bahamas to play Temple on Friday, and then Iowa State or St. John's on Saturday at the Super Six Series.

The #6 A&M women's basketball team won their first road game of the season when they defeated University of Arkansas-Little Rock, 83-54, last night. Kelsey Bone had 16 points, 8 rebounds, Sydney Carter had 15 points, 4 rebounds, Adaora Elonu had 15 points, 9 rebounds, Tyra White had 12 points, and Skylar Collins had 14 points as the Aggies had five players score in double-digits. The Aggies outscored Arkansas-Little Rock 38-18 in the paint, and forced 24 turnovers, which they converted into 31 points.

After starting slow and exchanging the lead back and forth, the Aggies went on a 13-0 run beginning at the 14 minute mark of the first half to open up a lead they would never relinquish. A&M's superior depth helped them, as they outscired the Trojans in bench points, 19-3. Arkansas-Little Rock is a solid team, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and five consecutive 20-win seasons. This was a decent test for us for our first road game, and a good win.

The Aggies next game is Sunday at 1:30 against Mississippi State at Reed Arena.

Kelsey Bone had 15 points, 9 rebounds, Sydney Carter had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 8 steals, and Tyra White had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists as the Aggies defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 76-58 earlier today. The Aggies took an early 8-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, and never trailed. The Aggies led by as many as 20 points in the first half as they kept the pressure on the Cardinals. The Aggies' pressure defense forced the Cardinals into 27 turnovers on the day.

Point guard Adrienne Pratcher had 7 points, 8 assists, and 1 steal in her second start running the show on offense. Karla Gilbert had 9 points and 7 rebounds, and Adaora Elonu had 6 points and 4 rebounds to help the Aggies dominate the Aggies inside, scoring 42 points in the paint.

Coach Blair pointed out in the postgame that Louisville was playing shorthanded, missing three starters, including their star point guard Shoni Schimmel, who was serving the second game of a two-game suspension for violation of NCAA rules. It probably would have been a closer game if we had faced Louisville at full strength. Because of their lack of depth, Louisville spent the game playing zone, so the performance of Bone, Elonu, and Grant inside is especially gratifying.

In a pregame ceremony, the Aggies raised the National Championship banner commemorating the 2010-2011 National Championship season from last year. The team members were also presented with their national championship rings. The Aggies then went out and dominated a top 10 opponent, showing that we're intent on making another run in the Tournament this season.

The Aggies next game is Thursday, when they travel to play University of Arkansas-Little Rock at 7 PM.

The #6 A&M women's basketball team dominated Lamar, 83-58, as they won their season opener going away Saturday afternoon. Tyra White had 22 points and 3 assists, Sydney Carter had 14 points and 2 blocks, Adaora Elonu had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks, Karla Gilbert had 11 points and 7 rebounds, and Kelsey Bone had 11 points in her A&M debut as the Aggies had five players score in double-digits. New starting point guard Adrienne Pratcher had 6 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, and only one turnover in 21 minutes of playing time.

After losing Sydney Colson and Danielle Adams after last year's national championship-winning team, the question was how well they would replace Adams' production inside, and Colson's play at point guard. Pratcher performed well at the point, and the combination of Bone, Elonu, and Gilbert were more than enough to replace Adam's scoring production inside.

The Aggies forced Lamar to commit 28 turnovers, and held them to 35% shooting from the field, including 1-9 from beyond the arc. Our pressure defense forced turnovers which we turned into points, but we also dominated inside, outrebounding Lamar 42-35, and blocking 8 shots. With Gilbert, Bone, and Elonu, I am hopeful we can add shot blocking to our defensive repertoire, and become an even more dangerous defensive team, pressing full court and making teams afraid to go inside.

The Aggies' next play on Tuesday against #9 Louisville in a nationally televised game. Our national championship banner will be unveiled in the pregame, and the players on last year's team will receive their rings.