I agree. Embarrassing, and the blame should be on the coaching staff. Two conference games. Both lost by double digits and tonight by almost 30. If the coaches cannot motivate the team or impact the team, get out of the way and let Ross Bjork hire a coaching staff that can.
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
No. 25 Texas A&M falls to 0-2 in SEC play following loss at No. 7 Tennessee
The Aggies dropped their SEC opener on Sunday against LSU and were looking to flip the script against No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday night.
What started as a promising start quickly got away from No. 25 Texas A&M (10-4, 0-2) as the Lady Volunteers (14-1, 3-0) managed to take care of the Aggies, 73-45.
“It was a bad night, and we’ve had too many of those lately,” Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair said. “It all starts with me as the head coach.”
The Aggies got off to a hot start, shooting a blazing 80 percent from behind the arc in the first quarter. Coming into this matchup, the Aggies were the best 3-point shooting team in the country. A&M guard Qadashah Hoppie had seven points, and guard Destiny Pitts added six points in the quarter.
On the other side, the Lady Vols struggled early, shooting only 9-22 in the quarter. A&M led by as many as eight points but got outscored 27-7 heading into halftime. The Aggies struggled on the glass and were outrebounded 24-18 as Tennessee took a 42-28 lead into the break.
“We have to take a look in the mirror from the players to the coaching staff. I got talent and leadership on this team, but at the same time, this was an embarrassment.”
“Give credit to them,” guard Destiny Pitts said. “They are a really good team, but our energy and effort weren’t there tonight, and that’s just unacceptable.”
A&M couldn’t keep up coming out of halftime.
Tennessee’s Jordan Horston secured a double-double in the third quarter. She finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds and paved the way for the Lady Vols.
“She would have had a triple-double if this game was closer,” Blair said of Horston. “She can go like a Michael Jordan or a Kobe. I didn’t see too many bad shots. She took the shots we were giving her, and she filled up the stat sheet.”
The Aggie offense never got going and was outscored 31-17 in the second half. Three Aggies finished in double figures. One of the few bright spots was Pitts, who finished with 12 points, two assists and five rebounds.
“We’re not overrated,” Blair said. “We have been playing like this the last four to five ballgames. We have to take a look in the mirror from the players to the coaching staff. I got talent and leadership on this team, but at the same time, this was an embarrassment.”
The Aggies look to get back on track on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Florida Gators. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Reed Arena.
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