Can Texas A&M Women Repeat In 2011-2012
Last year, Texas A&M women-s basketball won their first ever National Championship in a titillating 76-70 win over Notre Dame. Coach Gary Blair, after having left Arkansas in 2003 for Texas A&M, has built the women-s program into a nationally recognized power, taking the Aggie women to six straight NCAA tournaments. This past spring was the team-s first 30-win season and first trip to the Final Four. The question remains, can the defending national champions do it again this year, after what was truly a magnificent season, and facing yet another challenging schedule for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.The whole story can be found at http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/31/texas-am-aggies-on-their-way-out-of-big-12-but-to-where/ The Big 12 Conference schedule will begin on January 4 vs. Kansas State on the road. The new schedule features a double round-robin format, where conference members play each other twice. In addition to conference play, Aggie women will face 18 opponents who advanced to postseason play last year, including 13 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament. Among the teams the women will face in non-conference play is the seven-time national champion Connecticut. This season the Aggies will rely on sophomore Kelsey Bone, newcomers Rachel Mitchell, Tori Scott and Alexia Standish, and three returning starters: Sydney Carter, Adaora Elonu and Tyra White. The 2012 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship will be held March 7-10 in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. Texas A&M will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship March 17 and 19 at Reed Arena.