So, Where Does It Rate?

Last night’s monumental win by A&M over No. 2 Oklahoma begs the question: how does the landmark victory stack up in the Aggies’ all-time record book? “Best-Ever” lists are hard to compile, particularly when A&M’s flashes of success have come in such different times. So, to make this list, I only considered games played in the modern era, which for all intents and purposes began with Gary Blair’s arrival in College Station.

Previous teams captured some special victories (the 1994 team made the Sweet 16; the 1996 team beat ranked Texas and Texas Tech to win the SWC Tournament; and the 2002 team upended No. 5 Iowa State and No. 14 Texas) but I only looked at games since 2003-04 to compile this list.

HONORABLE MENTION:
No. 19 Texas A&M 60, No. 9 Baylor 52 (1/13/07)
The Aggies had lost 27 straight to ranked opponents heading into this Reed Arena showdown with top-10 Baylor. A&M rallied from an early 17-5 deficit to whip the crowd of 8,886 fans into a frenzy. After the game, Gary Blair told the media “it’s time for people to understand we’ve got a program here.” How right he was.

5) No. 14 Texas A&M 67, Texas 60 (2/28/07)
The stars lined up perfectly for the Aggies on the final night of the regular season—a home game against rival Texas, where an A&M win would clinch a conference crown. The Aggies didn’t play their best game of the year, but they played well enough to hold off the struggling Longhorns down the stretch. The post-game celebration was extra sweet, as coaches, players and even a few fans cut down the nets for the first time (and, to date, the only time) in Reed Arena history.

4) No. 12 A&M 57, No. 2 Oklahoma 56 (2/23/09)
Wait, so the Aggies just knocked off the highest-ranked opponent in school history, and the accomplishment doesn’t even make the top three? I struggled with placing this tremendous moment so low, but my caveat is that what happens the rest of the season could easily catapult this game much higher. When you consider the Aggies pulled this off with one of their main contributors in foul trouble and another with health (and foul) issues, it’s certainly a fair argument to say this is ranked too low. Takia Starks’ game-winning shot with five seconds left might go down as the greatest play in school history.

3) No. 3 Tennessee 53, No. 8 A&M 45 (4/1/08)
This game had more on the line than any other contest in program history, and it was a study in contrasting styles—the dean of women’s coaches in Pat Summitt and her dozen high-school All-Americans against Gary Blair and his band of unheralded scrappers. The Aggies more than held their own for the first 35 minutes of the game, cobbled together a five point lead late in the second half against the defending national champs. The much deeper and more talented Lady Vols eventually won and claimed another national title, but A&M won over a lot of fans and a ton of national credit with this Elite Eight near-miss.

2) No. 21 A&M 54, No. 6 Oklahoma 52 (1/27/07)
The fact that this is the only true road game on the list is what bumps it up to such a lofty perch. Oklahoma had finished a perfect 16-0 in league play the season before and was riding a 24-game league unbeaten streak. The Aggies battled the Sooners possession for possession and needed one last defensive stop to seal the win. Danielle Gant, playing in her home state, blocked a 3-pointer at the buzzer, stunning the 11,000-plus in the Noble Center and giving A&M its first road win over a ranked team since at least 1994. As an added bonus, the closing moments of the game were shown live inside Reed Arena, where a large crowd was awaiting the tip-off of an A&M men’s game. Pandemonium ensued inside Reed after Gant’s block, and the Aggies officially took their place at the Big 12’s head table.

1) No. 8 A&M 77, No. 9 Duke 63 (3/30/08)
Loud-talking Duke entered this Sweet 16 match-up against A&M with a touch of arrogance, as players told the media leading up to the game that they weren’t too worried about overcoming the Aggies’ high-pressure defense. Second-seeded A&M took control from the outset and never trailed past the three-minute mark in the first half. As it turned out, Duke’s offense was outclassed all night, and the Aggies ran away with the victory. For the first time ever, A&M was one win away from the Final Four.


Would you order these differently? Would you include different games in your top five? Should I have included last year’s Big 12 Tournament finals win against Oklahoma State? Post a comment or shoot me an email — true@12thmanfoundation.com — and let me know your thoughts.

Weekend By The Numbers

.900 – Batting average this weekend for sophomore Caleb Shofner. Shofner reached base on 15 of his 16 plate appearances, scored 11 runs and tallied five RBIs.

14 – Strikeouts recorded by pitcher Alex Wilson in just 6 2/3 innings Saturday. Wilson allowed only three hits and one baserunner through the first six innings. His 14 Ks were the most by an A&M pitcher since 2004.

9 – Walks allowed by A&M pitchers in 36 innings. The Aggies held Wright State to a .207 batting average to help claim the four-game series sweep.

21 – Career-high in points for Chinemelu Elonu in the Aggies’ 79-73 win over Texas Tech on Saturday. Elonu also pulled down 12 rebounds.

5 – Consecutive victories over Texas for the women’s basketball team. A&M completed the season sweep of the Horns on Saturday with a 76-65 win.

12 – Consecutive games for Takia Starks to score in double figures. Starks, who had 18 points against Texas, has score in double figures in all of the Aggies’ Big 12 contests.

25 – Runs in two Friday games for the softball team in Houston. A&M rolled to a 14-2 win against Northern Illinois and an 11-1 victory over Prairie View A&M. On Saturday, the Aggies knocked off No. 18 Houston on the Cougars’ home field.

16-under – The final-round score for the men’s golf team in Wahiawa, Hawaii, enough to erase an eight shot deficit and claim the team title in the Burns Intercollegiate. Freshman Geoff Shaw led the last-day charge, firing a six-under par 66 in his first college tournament.

16 – Combined number of goals and assists for freshmen Beth West and Jennifer Kmezich in A&M’s annual spring 7v7 tournament. The Aggies finished the weekend with a 3-0 record after convincing wins over Rice, Houston and North Texas.

Weekend By The Numbers

165 – Career three-pointers for senior Takia Starks. Starks’ three against Kansas tied her with former All-American Lisa Branch for the all-time A&M lead.

3 – Consecutive games in which the women’s basketball team has allowed seven or less field goals in the second half. The Aggies allowed just four to Oklahoma State on Jan. 24, seven to Texas on Jan. 28 and six to Kansas on Jan. 31.

20 – Games in a row in which B.J. Holmes has made at least one three-pointer. Holmes’ streak is the third longest in school history.

32-4 – A&M’s record under Mark Turgeon when the team makes at least 45 percent from the field.

17 – Points by Josh Carter against Oklahoma State, a big-time turnaround from being held scoreless in Stillwater on Jan. 10.

6.59 – School-record mark in the 60 meters by Gerald Phiri, set in the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium during the Texas A&M Showdown on Saturday. Phiri also earned the previous school record, clocking 6.64 twice last year.

1 – Porscha Lucas’ place on the world and collegiate list this year in the 200 meters. Lucas clocked a 23.39 over the weekend to take over the world lead by one one-hundredth of a second.

10 – Ranking for the softball team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll. The Aggies are one of three Big 12 squads, with No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 19 Missouri also appearing.

Weekend By The Numbers

9 – Combined wins for the men’s and women’s indoor track teams at the Arkansas Invitational. The Aggies opened their indoor season with a solid performance, also tallying seven NCAA provisional marks.

1-2-4-5-6 – Finishes posted by the A&M women in the 200 meters. Jessica Beard set a personal best to win in the event in 23.59 seconds, with Gabby Mayo, Dominique Duncan, Sandy Wooten and Elizabeth Adeoti rounding out the Aggie contingent.

22 – Points for senior Danielle Gant in the women’s basketball teams’ 62-56 victory at Missouri. Gant turned in a perfect 10-for-10 performance from the field and also connected on both her free throw attempts.

2 – Takia Starks is now A&M’s second all-time leading scorer, surpassing former player Lisa Langston. Starks’ 14 point effort at Missouri gives 1,626 career points, trailing only Lisa Branch’s 1,939.

19.9 – The Aggie women currently rank No. 1 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing just 19.9 percent. Saturday, Missouri managed 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from beyond the arc.

0 – Points scored by Josh Carter in the Aggies double-digit loss to Oklahoma State. Carter entered the game as the team’s leading scorer.

11 – Victories recorded in 16 events for the women’s swimming and diving team against SMU on Saturday. The Aggies picked up a 163-137 win over No. 18 SMU, and Triin Aljand and Alia Atkinson both picked up a pair of victories.

Weekend By The Numbers

4 – Season-low number of turnovers for the men’s basketball team against Arizona on Friday night. No Aggie player had more than one turnover, while the Wildcats committed 15 turnovers.

20 – Number of seconds in which the Aggies led Arizona. After training by as much as 13 points in the second half, sophomore Nathan Walkup capped the A&M comeback with a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining.

1,525 – Career points for senior guard Takia Starks. Starks moved into third place on the A&M career list during her 21 point performance against SMU on Sunday.

3 – Opponents that have been held under 20 points in the first half against the women’s basketball team. SMU scored just 18 points in the opening frame to join SFA (12 points) and Mercer (15 points) as Aggie casualties.

4 – Baseball players named to the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award preseason watch list. First baseman Luke Anders, outfielder Kyle Colligan, and pitchers Travis Starling and Kyle Thebeau made the list. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player.

10 – Career Big 12 Diver of the Week or Month honors earned by senior Eric Sehn. Sehn earned the award most recently in late November after his performance in the local Art Adamson Invitational.

0 – Number of A&M sporting events taking place this week. It’s gonna be a long few days until the women’s basketball team hosts Texas State on Dec. 13.

Weekend By The Numbers

5 – Ranking of the A&M women’s basketball team in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Over the weekend, the Aggies (6-0) picked up wins against Penn State and host Pepperdine to claim the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament.

18 – Scoring average for Takia Starks in the Pepperdine tournament, enough to earn tournament MVP honors. Starks scored 19 against Penn State and followed that with 17 against Pepperdine.

102 – Minutes it took for top-seeded North Carolina to put away the Aggie soccer team. A&M narrowly missed its first-ever appearance in the Final Four, losing a heartbreaker, 2-1, in double overtime in Chapel Hill, N.C.

5 – Players in double figures for the men’s basketball team against Kent State on Saturday. Bryan Davis, B.J. Holmes, Josh Carter, David Loubeau and Donald Sloan all finished with at least 12 points. Davis posted his second career double-double, with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

57.1 – Season-best shooting percentage by the Aggies, achieved against Kent State. It was a dramatic change from Friday’s game against Tulsa when A&M made a season-low 30.9 percent.

6 – Consecutive wins for the volleyball team to close the regular season. Despite the late season heroics and a fourth place finish in the Big 12, the Aggies were left out of the NCAA Tournament.

4 – Former Aggie softball players that have signed or played with the Philadelphia Force in the National Pro Fastpitch league. The most recent Aggie to sign was former centerfielder Jami Lobpries. Last year, Megan Gibson was the No. 2 overall pick in the NPF draft, and former players Rocky Spencer and Sharonda McDonald have also spent time with the Force.