No. 15 A&M uses dominant second half to beat No. 11 MSU, 64-58

The Texas A&M women’s basketball team answered the bell on Thursday night. The cowbell, that is.

After trailing by six points at the halftime break, the 15th-ranked Aggies used a strong performance on both ends of the floor in the final 20 minutes of play to post a 64-58 victory over the 11th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs at Reed Arena. With the win, A&M moves to 17-7 overall and 7-4 in SEC play while the Bulldogs fall to 21-5 on the year and 8-4 in conference.

The contest was A&M’s seventh straight decided by less than 10 points and goes down as the Aggies’ sixth win against a ranked opponent this season.

“I think it’s a huge win that shows we learned from the close games that we lost,” said A&M guard Courtney Walker. “We are coming together down the stretch. We didn’t have our star point guard but everyone stepped up. We were just able to pull it out together.”

A&M was without the services of two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and starting point guard Jordan Jones due to concussion protocol, but the other two arms of the “Big Three” picked up the slack. Walker scored 21 and pulled down eight rebounds while Courtney Williams returned to form and scored 22 while adding six boards.

In Jones’ absence, backups Curtyce Knox and Shlonte Allen split duty and combined for 10 points and six assists while giving up just two turnovers.

“It hardly ever works out when you’re facing a wounded team,” said former A&M assistant and current Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer. “They always rally around the wounded warrior and just find a way to win. You really have to tip your hat to Curtyce Knox. She had five assists and only one turnover and led her team on a day when they needed her.”

After falling down by as many as 11 midway through the second quarter, A&M ended the half on a quick 5-0 run, including a three-pointer by Taylor Cooper just before the buzzer that cut the Bulldog lead down to six. After the game, Blair noted that Cooper’s three was huge for his team.

“Cooper’s halftime shot was as big as any shot in the game,” said Blair. “Our kids felt good coming off the court. Walker being unselfish found Cooper. That’s what she’s there for, she’s a big time player that makes plays.”

Down three late in the third quarter, Knox pulled up and hit a jumper with 2:08 left in the period that closed the Aggies within one and sparked a 13-2 run spanning midway into the fourth quarter. That stretch gave A&M a 55-47 lead with 7:16 remaining in the game and would prove to be an insurmountable advantage.

The Bulldogs closed within three with 2:37 left in the fourth and within four with 19 seconds remaining, but would never draw any closer.

Blair credited associate head coach Kelly Bond-White’s scouting report as the driving factor in the victory.

“For 15 years, Vic was my right hand, just like Kelly is my right hand right now,” said Blair. “This was Kelly Bond-White’s game plan. It wasn’t mine. It was her scout. It was her offense. It was her set plays and little things that she pulled out that would work.

"You see on the other side? (Former A&M and current MSU assistant) Johnnie Harris is her best friend. I’m sure it was Johnnie’s game to turn in the scouting report for them, so give some kudos to Kelly.”

That scouting report paid dividends in the second half as A&M held the Bulldogs to just 9-of-29 (31%) shooting in the final 20 minutes. Conversely, the Aggies hit on 15-of-25 (60%) shots over the same period on their way to outscoring Mississippi State 38-26 in the back half of the contest.

Another key to victory was the resurgence of Williams. Hampered by a back injury earlier in the year, the senior seemed to be lacking her scoring ability shown in the past and was averaging just 6.6 points per game in conference play coming into the game.

However on Thursday night, she seemingly returned to her All-SEC form and poured in a game-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

“I just really had to get my rhythm back,” said Williams. “I had to get to the hole in transition because that really opens things up for my teammates. When I make them better that makes me better. I took my time and I let the game come to me.”

If the Aggies want to continue their surge and remain near the top of the SEC standings, Williams will need to continue to produce at a high level – especially with Jones’ status uncertain going forward.

The never-ending grind that is SEC play continues on Monday night as A&M travels to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels at 6 pm.