Aggie Women's Hoops hosts DePaul with trip to Sweet 16 on the line

The Aggie women’s basketball team will look to continue the momentum in the NCAA Tournament as its plays host to DePaul in the second round on Sunday at Reed Arena.

The fourth-seeded Aggies will head into the second round coming off an 89-76 win over Drake University on Friday.

The Aggies leaned on the offense of Danni Williams, Freshman of the Year Chennedy Carter and Khaalia Hillsman as they have the entire year. In the win over Drake, Carter dropped 26 points, Hillsman 22 and Williams 18.

Williams said a win on Sunday would be big for the team and the program, given they haven’t advanced to the Sweet Sixteen since 2012.

“It would be huge for us. You know, I’ve never been, none of us have ever been,” Williams said. “So that’s exciting to think about that possibility and we’re playing at home, so that gives us a little bit more of an oomph to play that we’ve been here — we haven’t been to the Sweet Sixteen yet. But, we have to come out ready to play and focus because DePaul is a really good team.”

DePaul heads into Sunday’s contest after taking down Oklahoma 90-79. The Blue Demons had four players score in double figures with Amarah Coleman leading the team with 17 points. Mart’e Grays is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points per game.

Defensively, the adjustments the Aggies will need to make are slowing down the three-point attack of DePaul on offense. In the game against the Sooners, DePaul shot 12-24, a strong 50% from beyond the arc.

These two teams are at an even .500 when they have previously faced off. The last meeting between A&M and DePaul came on Dec. 12, 2015, as the No.16 Aggies were upset 80-66 at Reed Arena.

Both coaches Doug Bruno and Blair have a lot of respect for one another as the two friends have crossed paths several times.

“When it’s all over we’re in this together,” Bruno said. “And so Gary and I have done a lot of things together. When he’s come to Chicago we’ve gone to Wrigley together, we’ve had steaks in Chicago together…I drink Miller Lite. He drinks Coors Light. It’s just basically, we’re good friends and we like each other and I respect what he does.”

Under the direction of head coach Gary Blair, the Aggies have been to the Sweet 16 five times in the past 10 years and head into Sunday with a trip to Spokane, Washington on the line.

Blair said the home crowd will help his team and a win on Sunday would be the difference between a good year and a great year.

“You play at home, you're supposed to be the favorite,” Blair said. “Even though the teams on paper are very [similar] — our crowd has to take over this game. When we struggle a little, our crowd has to take it over. It means a lot to get back to Sweet 16, Elite Eight. I’m looking forward to going back to Spokane. I haven't been there since AAU days back in the 80’s.”

Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN 2.

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