Aggie Women's Hoops handles Ole Miss for another lopsided victory, 83-54
The No. 14 Texas A&M women’s basketball team returned to action this Thursday night at Reed Arena against the Ole Miss Rebels. The Aggies had yet another dominating SEC performance at home, overpowering the Rebels 83-54.
Eleven different Aggies saw action in this game, each contributing to an all-around stellar team performance. The Aggies’ first-half performance was the primary factor in tonight’s win.
The first half ended with Texas A&M up 48-13 over Ole Miss. A&M’s sound defensive play was a key part of their commanding first-half performance, allowing only 13 points by the Rebels. The Rebels came out in a full-court press, but A&M was quickly able to break their defensive scheme down and put 48 points on the board. Most of A&M’s points came from Chennedy Carter’s ability to find Khaalia Hillsman and Anriel Howard down low.
A&M quickly showed that they have the ability to score from anywhere on the court. Carter had 20 points alone in the first half, along with four steals, and was merely unstoppable. The Aggies set up in a zone defense, which created havoc for the Ole Miss offense, which was only able to make 5 of its 34 attempted shots (14%) in the first half. Anriel Howard was a dual-threat, dominating on both ends of the court with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rebels came out in the second half with a chip on their shoulder and went on an eight-point run in the first three minutes. The Aggies struggled to gain momentum initially, with Ole Miss scoring a total of 22 points in the third quarter. Freshman Promise Taylor was crucial in Ole Miss’ momentum in the second half. She added 10 blocks and 14 points against the Aggies. Ole Miss outscored the Aggies in the second half, yet A&M’s game plan prevailed.
“I felt like I was able to execute the offense. I didn’t rush my shots tonight and I was able to get my teammates involved. After watching film this week, I was able to be active on the defensive end, get the steal and finish on the fast break,” Carter said. “At this point in the season, we are all starting to gel and become one. We all contributed to the win tonight.”
Gary Blair was proud of his team’s first-half performance but thought there were some improvements to be made in order to close out games properly, especially in the second half.
“I thought we came out really ready to play tonight,” said Blair, who picked up his 350th career win Thursday. “I was pleased with what we did in the first half. The drop ball started in the second half when we gave them three straight three-pointers out of the shoot. It took five minutes before we ran one play correctly in the third quarter…we have to do a better job to not turn the ball over.”
Blair is optimistic about his team’s next round of competition, adding, “We are playing well. We are sharing the basketball. We are showing really good point guard play.”
Up next, the Aggies look to take on LSU Sunday, February 11th at 2 p.m. in Baton Rouge.
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