Fourth-quarter woes plague No. 23 A&M as Aggies fall to No. 19 LSU, 75-66
No. 23 Texas A&M women’s basketball dropped their SEC opener on Sunday afternoon, falling to No. 19 LSU, 75-66.
The Aggies welcomed Jordan Nixon, Kayla Wells and Jada Malone back to the lineup after they missed a game due to COVID-19 protocols. This was A&M’s first game in 13 days, and both teams started slow.
The Aggies started 4-of-17 from the field and 1-of-8 from behind the arc in the first quarter. Nixon led the way for A&M in the frame, scoring five points and making the Aggies’ lone 3-pointer. LSU caught fire early and was aggressive down-low, scoring 10 of their 16 first-quarter points in the paint.
The second quarter saw the Aggies get hot.
Texas A&M currently leads the country in 3-point field goal percentage, and they showed it in the second quarter, going 6-of-10 from downtown. Guard Destiny Pitts led the Aggies with 13 points heading into halftime. Pitts and guard Qadashah Hoppie went a combined 5-of-7 from behind the arc to give A&M a 33-29 lead.
“We were sharing the ball and moving it in the first half and hitting some timely threes,” head coach Gary Blair said. “We found Destiny (Pitts) a lot. It was an off night for our two leading scorers.”
Coming out of the break, A&M’s advantage got as high as eight points. Wells led the advance with five points in the quarter. Thanks to LSU’s guard Alexis Morris — who shot 4-of-7 from the field and registered 12 points in the quarter — the Tigers were within three points heading into the final stanza, with Texas A&M leading, 49-46.
A&M’s first-quarter shooting struggles returned with the team shooting a poor 6-of-20 from the field and 1-of-8 from behind the arc to lose the lead. LSU took advantage and rallied back, outscoring the Aggies 29-17 in the fourth.
Three Aggies finished in double-figures fronted by Pitts’ 18 points. Still, it wasn’t enough to cement a victory as Morris added 11 fourth-quarter points for the Tigers to finish with a game-high 30 points.
“This is what a rivalry is supposed to be about. We dream it every day, and we try to live up to it,” Blair said. “We were the better team for about three quarters of the game. LSU was definitely the better team in the fourth quarter.”
Texas A&M looks to bounce back on Thursday night as they face No. 7 Tennessee as SEC play continues. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CT.