WBB: Jones' 15 assists lead A&M to 75-61 victory over Vanderbilt

It’s not easy to outsmart a Vanderbilt Commodore. Friday night’s women’s basketball contest proved it’s not exactly easy to outscore them either.

However, the fifth-ranked Aggies proved to be up to the test and knocked off their foes from Nashville 75-61 in the season’s first conference game at Reed Arena on Friday evening. With the victory, A&M moves to 13-2 on the season and 1-0 in SEC play, while the Commodores fall to 8-5 overall and 0-1 in conference.

Courtney Williams scored a game-high 22 points, Jordan Jones added nine and 15 assists, Achiri Ade tallied her fifth career double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Courtney Walker scored 17 to lead the Aggies.

“Vanderbilt is going to be very good by the end of the year,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair. “I’m just glad I’m not having to play them twice and making a trip to Nashville."

While the Aggies eventually were able to obtain the victory by double digits, it the Commodores who possessed control of the contest for much of the first half. After the Aggies started hot from the floor, the buckets quit falling and Vanderbilt was able to go from trailing by seven points with 13:11 left in the first, to leading by seven with 1:47 to play in the half.

But that’s when fortunes changed and the Aggies began their takeover.

Trailing 32-25, A&M used three quick buckets over the half’s final 90 seconds to pull within one at the break.

“The key was right before the half, we had 57 seconds and I called a timeout and told them I wanted a two-for-one,” Blair said of his end of half strategy. “Walker got a quick two and then we got it back and got another basket at the end of the possession that got us back within one.”

A&M carried the momentum from the first half-ending run through the break and built up a 10-point lead, their largest to that point, at 51-41 with 12:22 left in the game.

Vanderbilt was then able to cut it back down to four, but A&M’s pressure defense forced the Commodores into multiple turnovers down the stretch, allowing the Aggies to once again build their lead to a double-digit margin and effectively close out the game.

“I have to give all the credit to Texas A&M, they turned it up in the second half,” said Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb. “Jordan Jones’ intensity on the ball didn’t allow us to get it inside which is where we should have been able to score.

“I told Jones after the game that I was really impressed with a kid that plays that hard for 37 minutes on defense and changes a game, and then also has 15 assists. We couldn’t contain her in transition and she was getting the ball into the paint and just kicking it to their mid-range shots.”

As Balcomb noted, not only was Jones a force on the defensive end of the floor, but as usual, she did her job offensively as well. The DeSoto native’s 15 dimes on the night gave her 440 for her career and moved her into seventh place on the all-time A&M assist list, passing Lisa Herner.

“With assists, it’s really a two way street,” said Jones. “My shooting guards and teammates have to be on, and they were on tonight which made my job a lot easier. It’s really all on them, they have to do all the work and I just have to get them the ball.”

Now, the Aggies turn their attention to the road for the first time in SEC play as they travel to Fayetteville for a Sunday contest against Blair’s old team, the Arkansas Razorbacks. While the team will be focused first and foremost on leaving Arkansas with a victory, Jones knows that due to Blair’s history, there is something a little extra that comes with playing the Hogs.

“When we get to Arkansas, I’m sure that’s going to be one of his key points to the game,” Jones said. “It being a homecoming for him and also for Coach Wright since she did play for Arkansas. We’re really just going to try to take those two back home and get them a win.”