WBB: A&M demolishes Prairie View in home opener, 76-27

Losing players to graduation is normal in college sports and can lead to a down year the following season if too prevalent.

So when the Texas A&M women’s basketball team graduated two starters (Kristi Bellock and Adrienne Pratcher) and lost another to early entry into the WNBA Draft (Kelsey Bone) a cause for alarm could have been justified.

But if Wednesday’s result is any indication, this team seems to be just fine.

Behind 15 points and seven rebounds from senior Karla Gilbert, and 11 points and eight rebounds from sophomore Courtney Walker, the #12 Aggies (2-0) defeated the visiting Prairie View A&M Panthers (0-2) 76-27 in front of 4,053 fans at Reed Arena.

Junior college transfer Achiri Ade also had 11 points, her second double-figure game in two tries as an Aggie.

“I really thought we were ready to play tonight,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair. “After a couple of misfires, we got into the flow of the game. Two games in a row now, Jordan (Jones) has had her way at the point guard position. Coach (Amy) Wright did the scouting report for this one and Coach (Bob) Starkey put his defensive touch on it.”

From the get-go, A&M suffocated the Panthers with a strong defensive effort that held Prairie View to just 15% from the field in the first half of play.

In addition to that, the Aggies also forced 18 first-half turnovers which helped propel a 21-2 run over a span of 14 minutes. That run allowed A&M to take a 38-10 lead to the locker room.

“Of course [we wanted to hold them to single digits in the first half],” said A&M point guard Jordan Jones. “We are playing for Coach Gary Blair. He does not want the other team to score. If a team has eight points, he wants us to find a way to get them back down to seven.”

The second half saw more of the same which allowed Blair to get his non-starters valuable in-game experience. In fact, all 11 Aggies who saw the floor registered at least 10 minutes of game time and recorded at least one basket.

But noticeably missing from the bench and the pregame presentation of the 2013 SEC Tournament Championship rings was 6-7 redshirt-sophomore Rachel Mitchell. Mitchell, who logged six minutes of playing time during Monday’s win over North Texas, has been suspended indefinitely by Blair.

“Mitchell is on a little suspension right now,” said Blair of his center. “We’ll wait and have things play out. She’s out indefinitely right now until we have a better meeting of the minds.”

While the suspension of Mitchell and the defensive performance by the Aggies were both major storylines of the night, the offensive performance of Jones and guard Chelsea Jennings should not be overlooked.

Jones only scored six, but had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 10-to-3 in the victory. Jennings, who earned her second straight start in place of the once-suspended Courtney Williams, shot 80% from the field on her way to eight points.

With Williams back in action, it remains to be seen if Jennings will continue to start but Blair has not made that adjustment thus far.

“[Courtney] was on a one game suspension,” stated Blair. “Today was her first game back, but sometimes when you come back, there is a Lou Gehrig thing where if someone is in there playing well, you might have to work your way back and win that job during practice. Right now, she hasn’t won it back yet.”

With their first home game of the year behind them, the Aggies now leave College Station for their next four contests. A&M will travel to Houston on Sunday to take on the Houston Cougars before tripping to the Virgin Islands to compete in the Paradise Jam Classic where they will face off with Memphis, Texas and Syracuse over Thanksgiving.