No. 16 Aggies Unable to Get By No. 8 Bulldogs

Next Game:
Vanderbilt
2/13/2020 | 8:00 PM
SEC Network
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STARKVILLE, Miss. The No. 16 Texas A&M women's basketball team was unable to outlast the No. 8 Mississippi State Bulldogs, falling 69-57 at Humphrey Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The Aggies put together a strong first half, taking a double-digit lead into the break, but Mississippi State came on strong in the second half to earn the victory. Junior guard Kayla Wells and junior forward N'dea Jones led the way with 16 points apiece.

After a hot start, turnovers plagued the Aggies (18-5, 6-4 SEC) through the first quarter, which slowed production until Wells came on strong late in the period. Wells got A&M back within one, 12-11, by the end of the first quarter and her hot hand carried the team's momentum into the second quarter.

Wells made it 14 first-half points, as the Aggies used a 12-2 run near the midway point in the quarter to go up double figures and position itself for a 37-26 halftime lead. A&M outscored the Bulldogs (22-3, 10-1 SEC) 26-14 in the second quarter.

A late scoring drought allowed Mississippi State to get back within two possession in the third quarter, but A&M held on to the lead, 49-43, heading into the final period.

The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to regain the lead and never looked back. They extended their lead the rest of the way, never letting A&M get back within striking distance.

TEAM NOTES

• Three A&M starters played the full 40 minutes against the Bulldogs, while N'dea Jones was 37 seconds shy of the 40-minute mark as she fouled out in the final minute.


• Texas A&M used a starting lineup of Aaliyah Wilson, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the seventh time this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Junior guard Kayla Wells put up 14 of her points in the first half, finishing with 16 for her seventh straight game in double figures.


• Junior forward N'dea Jones remains the only player in the SEC to record a double-double in every conference game as she made it 11 straight with 16 points and 15 rebounds.


• Junior guard Aaliyah Wilson made it back-to-back games scoring in double figures for the first time this season finishing with 12 points.


• Senior guard Shambria Washington recorded her 12th game of the season with five-or-more assists in a game, dishing out five against Mississippi State

UP NEXT
Texas A&M will return home on Thursday, Feb. 13, as it hosts Vanderbilt for its annual BTHO Breast Cancer game at 8 p.m.

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Just like the dump to Danell Adams years. Agree, shallow recruiting.

Watched on TV. Tough to loose when you are up 10 points. Just needed to take care of the ball. Steal and layup killed us. Then more turnovers. Homer call on the charge but we have to play smart. The MSU D shut us down because we do not move the ball well. We look stuck in the mud on O.

Well. I hear you. I want more. Mistakes are mistakes. Need to reduce to a low amount. Play to the strength.

We may have played ourselves out of hosting first and second round tournament games. IMO our only hope at this point is if we win all our remaining home games, steal one or two on the road and win a couple games in the conference tourney.

Did we host the year we won national? I honestly don't remember . I know I really liked the Shreveport trip.

Bucketrunner said:

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Did we host the year we won national? I honestly don't remember . I know I really liked the Shreveport trip.

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We were in Dallas Region with Baylor and played No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 15 McNeese State, Sun., 5 in Shreveport

Final Four
No. 1 Stanford Cardinal vs. No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies, 7 p.m. on ESPN
No. 1 Connecticut Huskies vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 9 p.m. on ESPN

NCAA Championship
April 5: Semifinal winners, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN

Philadelphia Region
No. 1 Connecticut Huskies def. No. 2 Duke Blue Devils, 75-40

Dayton Region
No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish def. No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers, 73-59

Dallas Region
No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies def. No. 1 Baylor Bears, 58-46

Spokane Region
No. 1 Stanford Cardinal def. No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs, 83-60


After that we went out west a couple times - hated it

The top 4 seeds in each region began hosting again in 2013. I think starting in 2006 the NCAA had 8 neutral court first and second round sites with 8 teams each like the men's tournament. We played in Trenton, LA, Baton Rouge, South Bend, Seattle, Shreveport and then here. I remember asking Bill Byrne around 2010 why we weren't hosting and he said the NCAA said Bryan/College Station did not have adequate hotel facilities. And I was thinking that we don't, but Waco does? Because Baylor was hosting. We finally got to host in 2012.
In 2013 we hosted and lost to Nebraska in the 2nd round.
In 2014 we hosted and wen to the elite 8 in Lincoln.
In 2015 we lost in the first round to Little Rock in Tempe. That was when Jordan Jones injured her knee.
In 2016 we hosted and lost to FSU in the second round when Courtney Williams did not play.
In 2017 we lost in the 2nd round at UCLA.
The last 2 years we hosted and went to the Sweet 16.

As of today our RPI is 18. I think a win at UT is crucial to getting a top 16 seed.

Thanks for the great explanation and history.