Texas A&M moves into women's 2nd round with 74-65 win over Missouri State
Survive and advance is the name of the game in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite a slow start, the fourth-seeded Texas A&M women’s basketball team dispatched the 13th-seeded Missouri State Lady Bears 74-65 at Reed Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Aggies move into the second round of the bracket for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons.
Anriel Howard pulled down an NCAA Tournament record 27 rebounds and Courtney Walker scored 29 points to lead the Aggies in the victory.
“It was a team effort,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair. “I’m happy for our team. Missouri State gave us everything that we wanted.”
Shortly before the Aggies took the floor for pregame warmups, Texas A&M announced that senior Courtney Williams and junior Shlonte Allen had been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules and would not be playing in Saturday’s contest against the Lady Bears.
SEC Sixth Man of the Year Chelsea Jennings drew the start in Williams’ place and scored 15 points in 27 minutes of game action.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Courtney Walker scored 29 points, including 15 in the third quarter, and is closing in on A&M's all-time scoring record.
“I’ve been in this position when Courtney was out with a back injury, so I’m used to it,” Jennings said. “A&M is known for the 12th Man. We all stepped in and we did our part.”
At first, it appeared the absence of the two players, specifically Williams, hindered A&M as Missouri State was able to hang with more-talented Aggies for the entirety of the first half.
Despite holding Missouri State to just 25% shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes, the Aggies were unable to separate themselves from the Lady Bears early on thanks in part to 17 turnovers. The Lady Bears were able to turn those extra possessions into 11 first half points off turnovers and trailed A&M by just two points at the halftime break, 25-23.
“Coach Blair mentioned in our after-game conference that we hadn’t played in 20 days, so there was a little bit of rust,” said Walker. “I’m glad we were able to have a stretch there in the third quarter where we were really focused.”
And in that third quarter, the Aggies were a different team.
After back-and-forth baskets over the quarter’s first two minutes the Aggies put a stranglehold on the Lady Bears, using a 23-11 run over the remainder of the quarter to take a 54-37 lead into the fourth.
In the period, Walker went 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the line to score 15 of her game-high 29 points. The senior from Oklahoma now sits just seven points away from A&M’s all-time scoring record.
“I just got hot,” Walker said of her third quarter performance. “Coach Blair just kept calling my play. He just goes with who’s hot because that’s what’s going to make the team best and that’s just what happened.”
During the fourth, the Aggies pushed their lead out to as many as 19 points before a late run by the Lady Bears cut the deficit to nine at the final buzzer. Already having broken the A&M single-game rebounding record, Howard pulled down four boards in the final 1:23 of play. Those final boards helped the Atlanta native set the NCAA Tournament record for rebounds in a single game.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Freshman Anriel Howard had a career day on Saturday, pulling down an NCAA Tournament record 27 rebounds.
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“She’s the Energizer bunny,” said Blair. “The ball is shot and she’s going. She’s just a high-energy person off and on the court.”
As for why Howard had so much success on Saturday, the freshman cited today’s date as the reason.
“March 19th, about 10 years ago, my mom, she was in the hospital and her line went flat,” said Howard. “March 19th has always been a day for sacrifice and accomplishment with her and I. I just really did it for her. I didn’t know I had it in me, but I played really hard for her.”
With the first round victory now in hand, the Aggies now turn their attention to fifth-seeded Florida State. The Seminoles defeated Middle Tennessee State 72-55 in the first game on Saturday. After the victory over Missouri State, Blair confirmed that Williams’ and Allen’s suspensions would at least last through Monday’s game.
“Remember, we were 5-0 without Williams and (Jordan) Jones when they were injured,” said Blair. “Now we’re 6-0 without another starter. But to get to 7-0 we’re going to have to get a whole lot better.”
