Pounding victories down the throats of opponents and leaving competitors gasping for room to breathe at the final whistle is not something many teams in college basketball are known for. Especially in women’s basketball, the capability of a team to dominate, take a large lead and extend it usually is not there. With the No. 8 Texas A&M women’s basketball team it is.

As the leader of the Big 12 in scoring, the Aggies are leaving opponents in the dust and taking names this season as A&M sits at a 13–1 record and has won five games by a margin of 30 points or more, including two games where they annihilated opponents by over 50 points. A powerful offense and a defensive hunger for turnovers lives within the Texas A&M lineup and coaching staff accounting for many of the team’s victories.

“They can do that to you, they’re a team that once it steam rolls it’s really hard to stop because their defense just keeps feeding it and they just sense that blood in the water mentality,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said.

A&M is averaging 83.9 points per game and is shooting a high 49 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from beyond the arc. Senior guard Tanisha Smith is leading in points for the Aggies with 17.9 per game and averages 4.8 rebounds and 3.73 assists per game. Against the Longhorns Smith scored 28 points to lead the Aggies over the conference rival.

“It’s really hard to stop [A&M’s momentum],” Fennelly said. “It really is and I think they’re a team that enjoys that and really challenges themselves to keep playing … that when they get you down they’re gonna put their foot on your throat and get after it. A lot of women’s teams don’t have that capability. [Texas] A&M certainly does so you better not let it get started because it’s going to be hard to stop it.”

Part of the reason for the Aggies’ powerful offense is its defense that averages 23.1 opponent turnovers and racks up 11.4 steals per game. Iowa State will enter College Station fresh off a game against another defensive powerhouse in the Big 12 — Nebraska. The Huskers made it difficult for the Cyclones to put together any type of offense aside from senior Alison Lacey’s 23 points, the Aggies will make it even more difficult.

“A&M’s defense is like Nebraska’s defense on steroids,” Fennelly said. “It’s going to be a very tough situation.”

Fennelly said opportunities to shoot the ball against Nebraska were passed up by Cyclone players, and emphasized that ISU women’s basketball has and always will be a “shoot the ball before you throw it away” type of team as long as he is coaching.

“This is a great place to play, cause you get to shoot it,” Fennelly said. “But sometimes shooting is one of those things where ‘If I don’t shoot, I won’t miss.’ Well that becomes even more selfish and what I tell my kids is don’t ever lie to me and don’t be selfish.”

Senior Denae Stuckey, a guard that was “limited” to taking shots in previous seasons has been urged to look to the basket more and shoot the ball. The Kansas City, Kan., native has improved dramatically from last season of averaging just one point per game and shooting 24.5-percent from the field to this year’s 5.2 points per game along with a 48.9 percent average from the field.

“In the beginning of the season, coach was just telling me that he was going to look for me to shoot more,” Stuckey said. “I had the green light to shoot since the beginning of the season.”

Stuckey’s improvements have helped the young Cyclone offense this season, but Fennelly is still banking on standout junior guard Kelsey Bolte to look to be even more of an offensive threat. 

“Kelsey Bolte’s got to want to become a scorer,” Fennelly said. “Kelsey has always been someone that has deferred to others. We can’t win games when Kelsey Bolte is taking five shots.”

Also in addition to A&M’s determination to dominate is the fact that the Cyclones are traveling on the road to face the Aggies. For Fennelly, he sees traveling as an opportunity to learn more about his team, as the 12 players and five coaches travel to Reed Arena.

“Every game in this league when you travel creates a new challenge and new opportunity, a new sense to learn about your team,” Fennelly said. “Right now our concern is certainly preparing for Texas A&M, but right now we have to be concerned about doing things to make us a better team.”

Stuckey referred to the “little things” that cost the Cyclones against Nebraska, including traveling calls and the inability to focus on details defensively.

“We still need work [on defense], I won’t say that we’re up to the top notch,” Stuckey said. “We can always improve. The thing about our defense is we just have to pay attention to detail and every little thing in defense counts.”