Historic performance from Chennedy Carter leads Ags past Cowgirls, 74-62

No. 12 Texas A&M women’s basketball defeated the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 74-62 in a Saturday night showdown at Reed Arena. In their first meeting since the Aggies’ transition to the SEC, the former conference opponents faced off as part of the Big 12/ SEC Challenge.

The Cowgirls, who fell to 6-3 on the season with the loss, have faced several formidable foes during their most recent stretch of games. Coming off a pair of tough losses to then No. 1 Oregon and No. 8 Louisville, OSU defeated UT-Arlington to snap their losing streak before heading to College Station to take on the Aggies.

After falling to No. 12 Florida State, the Aggies rebounded nicely from the loss with a dominant thirty-point win over Central Arkansas. In their first matchup with OSU since 2012, A&M was looking to even the series record against its former conference opponent.

To begin the contest, the Aggies jumped out to an early lead but struggled to maintain it as OSU began to get their offense in gear. Junior forward Vivian Gray led the Cowgirls in offense during the period, going 4/7 from the field to put up nine points for OSU. While the Aggies were a perfect 22 in three-pointers and 6/6 from the free-throw line, A&M went 5/15 from the field during the quarter. The Aggies battled back to tie it up at 18 points apiece at the conclusion of the first period.

Angelina Alcantar, TexAgs

Chennedy Carter’s season-high 31 lifted the Aggies over Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

Heading into the second quarter, the Aggies and Cowgirls were locked in a tight matchup. Stellar efforts by the Aggies on defense slowed the Cowgirls down, holding them to only 10 points in the quarter and shutting out Vivian Gray, OSU’s leading scorer. With contributions from Chennedy Carter and Kayla Wells, the Aggies put up 14 points in the second quarter to take the 32-28 lead at half time.

A&M head coach Gary Blair felt the team turned a corner in the final part of the second quarter.

“I felt the difference in the ball game was how we finished the second quarter,” said Blair. “We were in as much foul trouble as we were at Florida State, but this time Cheah Rael-Whitsitt and Anna Dreimane came in and stopped it.”

Heading into the third quarter, the Aggies worked to extend their lead. Chennedy Carter led the charge, going 7/11 from the field to put up 18 points for the Aggies. With the productive night, Carter moved into the number four spot in A&M’s all-time scoring list, passing Danielle Gant’s record of 1,645 total points. Carter certainly found her rhythm during the game, tallying 31 points on the night to extend her double-figures scoring streak to 47 consecutive games.

“I felt that I stopped focusing on other things,” Carter said. “I’ve been a little too hard on myself and have been thinking about other things when I’m shooting and shooting to try not to miss. Tonight, I really felt that I just went out there and let it fly.”

The Aggies’ defense continued to hold strong, stifling OSU’s offensive efforts and holding them to 13 points in the third quarter. The Aggies headed into the final quarter holding a 60-41 lead.

In the fourth quarter, OSU continued to battle back. With contributions from Natasha Mack, Vivian Gray and Cryn Gerlich, the Cowgirls put up 21 points in the final ten minutes. The Aggies’ offense was able to answer the Cowgirls’ challenge, scoring 14 in the fourth quarter to secure the 74-62 victory.

The Aggie’s seventh win of the season was a high scoring affair for several players. Chennedy Carter tallied a season-high 31 points, and Kayla Wells earned her first 20-point game of the season with a 22 point performance.

Coach Gary Blair believes the familiarity Carter and Wells share allows them to complement the other in their style of play.

“Wells is a pretty good Scottie Pippen, next to Jordan,” said Blair. “Sometimes, you have to have two people that work together so long. Remember, those two have been teammates since the fourth or fifth grade. Those kids have known each other that long. They just have a feeling about where the other person is going to be. Wells, when she strokes the ball and hits that three as good as she was, she was just getting open looks and then creating. She's getting better and better.”

The Aggies will be back in action on Wednesday evening when they face off with TCU at Reed Arena.

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