Posted 6:02 pm Sunday, March 30, 2008
Franklin Points Aggies Toward Great Heights
By HAROLD WILSON
Staff Writer
A'Quonesia Franklin found some happiness in the month called March Madness after her Texas A&M Aggies survived the first two cuts in the NCAA Tournament field.
Staff Writer
A'Quonesia Franklin found some happiness in the month called March Madness after her Texas A&M Aggies survived the first two cuts in the NCAA Tournament field.
The Aggies are now only two wins away from making it to the Final Four in Tampa Bay.
Franklin, a 5-3 senior point guard from Tyler, leads the second-seeded Aggies into a Sweet 16 matchup with No. 3 seed Duke on Sunday at 6 p.m. at The Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
The winner between eighth-ranked Texas A&M (28-7) and ninth-ranked Duke (25-9) faces either defending national champion Tennessee (32-2) or Notre Dame (25-8) on Tuesday in the championship game of the Oklahoma City Regional.
While playing at John Tyler, Franklin experienced a similar joy. The Lady Lions, after winning 20-plus games but failing to get out of the third round her sophomore and junior seasons, ended her senior year in the round of 16.
A&M won 20 games or more in Franklin's sophomore and junior seasons, but suffered first- and second-round exits, respectively.
"It's a good feeling, it being my senior year," Franklin said of A&M's season continuing. "Relating back to high school, we were excited to get over the hump. I would like to go further."
The Aggies, on an 11-game winning streak, come in on a high after winning the Big 12 championship and earning convincing wins over the University of Texas at San Antonio (91-52) and Hartford (63-39) to open the tournament.
For the Aggies, it starts with stops. Texas A&M ranks 13th nationally in scoring defense (54.7).
"Starting off 1-4 (in the Big 12), we weren't doing what we're doing now - playing pressure d(efense) and together as a team.," said Franklin. "On defense (now when) one person moves we all move."
It took a heart-to-heart sit-down between the players to spark a turnaround following a 73-60 loss to Nebraska. In that loss, Texas A&M allowed a season-high in points. In the 16 games afterward - A&M sports a 15-1 record during the span - only Oklahoma reached the 60-point plateau against the Aggies in their lone hiccup since the Nebraska game.
"After the Nebraska game we had a meeting amongst each other and said we have to turn it around," said Franklin, who last year helped A&M win the Big 12 regular season title. "We said 'we can't go from Big 12 champs to last place.' We did a great job of coming together."
With more seniors on the team (five) than anything else, Franklin feels the sense of urgency.
"You never know which game is going to be your last," said Franklin, who along with Morenike Atunrase, Latoya Gulley, Katy Pounds and Patricia Reado, make up coach Gary Blair's first recruiting class at A&M. "You never want to hold back. I play with all I got. When my college career ends I can say I left it out on the court."
In three-plus years, the numbers indicate Franklin more than left her mark. Franklin ranks in the top 15 in several career categories at A&M, including 3-pointers attempted (second, 463), 3-pointers made (third, 151), assists (third, 619), steals (sixth, 207) and points (13th, 1,091).
Franklin, putting up 7.7 points, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game, leads the Big 12 with a 2.01 assist-to-turnover ration, which ranks 16th nationally. In six games during the regular season, Franklin finished with an impressive zero turnovers. She dished out a season-high 12 assists on Jan. 19 against Oklahoma State and added 14 points to notch the double-double.
She tied her season-high of 19 points in the Big 12 Tournament championship victory over Oklahoma State.
"I just have to lead the team as I've been doing, get us in our offense; recognizing what defense the team is in and getting it to whose open and taking my open shots," said Franklin, an All-Big 12 Second Team selection. As a junior, she made the All-Big 12 First Team and merited honorable mention on the Associated Press All-American Team.
"If they play zone and if they're going to focus in on (the other players), I'll be left wide open. I'll have to hit the open shot."
Duke brings in a storied tournament history with a 39-14 all-time record, which puts them fourth all-time in winning percentage (73.6) behind only Tennessee (84.0), Connecticut (81.8) and Louisiana Tech (73.9). The Blue Devils advanced to the national championship game in 1999 and 2006.
Like Texas A&M, Duke depends on defense to win games. The Blue Devils rank seventh nationally in blocks (6.1) and steals (12.8) per game.
Chante Black, a 6-5 junior center/forward, tops Duke with averages of 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
"They're kind of similar to us with more of a post presence. But they're athletic, fast, up and down and want to run the ball," said Franklin, the only Aggie to start and play in all 35 games. "The key is putting pressure on the ball, creating turnovers and limiting the post's touches."
With a possible matchup looming with Tennessee - a star-studded squad with the likes of Shannon Bobbitt, Alexis Hornbuckle and Candace Parker - Franklin focused on the task at hand.
"We're about playing Duke," said Franklin, the daughter of Velesha McCalister who is majoring in recreation, parks and tourism sciences. "That's one thing our coaches are great at - looking at who's in front of us. Duke is not a team you can look past anyway."
A&M underwent eight consecutive losing seasons before Franklin's freshman season sparked a turnaround and four straight winning campaigns.
Despite not having a marquee name, A&M's roster features two of the 81 players considered pro prospects by the WNBA website - Atunrase and Franklin- compared to Duke's one (Wanisha Smith). The WNBA draft, which consists of three rounds and 43 total selections, takes place on April 9 - the day after the NCAA title game.
"I give a lot to our coaches and (their) recruiting and the way they've prepped us and given us knowledge," said Franklin. "We're just hard-working players. We don't have any All-Americans. We haven't played a team this caliber, like Duke. We can use it as motivation and say 'you all have the name,' but we (can) go out and show. ...the level is the same."
