Best season in Texas A&M history ends just shy of Final Four

4/2/2008 9:14 AM

By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -There was just something that A'Quonesia Franklin saw in Texas A&M, and something coach Gary Blair saw in her.

She was a lightly recruited, undersized point guard. He had a reputation for building programs from the ground up, but a lot of work to do at his latest stop.

Together, the two made history in Aggieland.

Despite coming oh so close to the Final Four and then missing, Texas A&M heads into the offseason on a high. The Aggies (29-8) kept moving farther and farther away from a losing tradition - winning the most games in school history and advancing deeper than ever in the NCAA tournament, even leading powerhouse Tennessee in the final 4 minutes of a 53-45 loss Tuesday night in the Oklahoma City Regional final.

Only three years after playing for a team that went 4-12 in the Big 12, Franklin and fellow seniors Patrice Reado and Morenike Atunrase leave with a regular-season conference title and a Big 12 tournament championship in addition to a memorable NCAA tournament run.

``I think that's one of the reasons why we came to Texas A&M is to be able to be at a program that's on the rise and not a program that already had a name for itself,'' said Franklin, who received AP All-America honorable mention the last two seasons. ``And just to play against Tennessee and be in the Elite Eight is an honor to us.''

Franklin said she saw some promise in the Aggies from Blair's first season despite a 2-14 Big 12 record. Between the lines, there were six losses by three points or less, including two against top 10 foes, and another in overtime.

Her freshman season brought a women's NIT bid and two postseason wins, and the following year brought the first NCAA tournament berth in a decade. After that came a share of the conference title with Oklahoma and national player of the year Courtney Paris. And now?

``Texas A&M is back on the map,'' Franklin said.

The players who believed in Texas A&M when there was little reason to do so can now take pride in what they've built in College Station. Blair has said he believes this year's Aggies were better than the 1998 Arkansas team that earned him his only Final Four appearance as a head coach.

``I knew what kind of coaches and coaching staff that coach Blair had, so I knew coming here that he knew how to coach, he knew what type of players to go after and what it took to win,'' Atunrase said. ``There was no doubt in my mind we wouldn't reach the goals that we have reached.''

The departure of the three key seniors leaves Blair with a more difficult task to return the Aggies to the glory days they experienced this year. He had all five starters back from last season's Big 12 co-champs, but now will have to find a new team leader to replace Franklin, another perimeter threat to fill in for Atunrase and a post player that can provide Reado's grit.

``These seniors have been so special. They believed in us first. They said, `Hey, we'll only come to a program that's not winning, and I'm going to believe in the coaching staff and I'm going to believe in the quality of education. We can get it at Texas A&M,''' Blair said.

``They're special. I hope a couple of them get next-level opportunities. But if not, I want them to be successful in life. Use this as a learning experience. Sometimes you have to fail before you can succeed.''

Blair will bring back the team's top two scorers in All-Big 12 players Takia Starks and Danielle Gant along with some frontcourt depth in 6-foot-3 center La Toya Micheaux and backup Damitria Buchanan. Freshman guard Tyra White, the second McDonald's All-American ever to sign with A&M, should also return after suffering a season-ending injury in her first college game.

Four high school players have signed to join the Aggies next season, and Blair hopes more top-level recruits will see what Texas A&M has done the past few years and consider programs like his.

``I hope seniors all over the country realize, go to the school that best fits your talent and your opportunity. There is a lot of schools that you can live your dream out,'' Blair said. ``Texas A&M is just one of them.''