Kayla Wells' 19 points power Aggies past Central Arkansas, 76-46
The No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies triumphed over the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, 76-46, on Wednesday. With thousands of kids from the Bryan-College Station area in attendance for Elementary School Day, Kayla Wells led the team in scoring with 19 points.
“It’s fun having them here,” junior center Ciera Johnson said. “We enjoy this game because we know we’re not going to lack energy because they’ll bring the energy.”
The Aggies did not take long to catch fire, gaining an eight-point lead on 4/6 shooting at the 5:21 mark in the first quarter. Texas A&M ultimately took a 26-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, led by Chennedy Carter’s five points, four rebounds and four assists. Coach Gary Blair was pleased with the offensive performance, but he still felt there was some room for improvement.
“I thought in the first quarter we were doing some nice things,” Blair said. “We were doing nice things on offense, but not on the defensive end.”
The Aggies answered with an improved defensive effort throughout most of the second quarter. Beginning with 2:15 left in the first quarter, Texas A&M went on a 22-3 run that ended at the 1:23 mark in the second quarter. Texas A&M finished the half with a 47-21 lead. Ciera Johnson led the team with 12 points on 6/6 shooting.
“I had a few easy shots in there,” Johnson said. “I was just slowing myself down, being comfortable and just taking my time.”
The third quarter was not as successful for the Aggies. Texas A&M made just 18.8% of their field goal attempts and were outscored 16-8 on the quarter. The team struggles led Coach Blair to rely on the energy of senior forward Cheah Rael-Whittsitt, who led the team with 14 rebounds in the game.
“Whitsitt is in there because of her energy,” Blair said. “She makes things happen one way or the other.”
The team returned to their efficient offense in the fourth quarter, making nine of their 18 shots. Texas A&M outscored their opponent 21-7 in the fourth quarter, giving them a 30-point victory to end the game.
“In the second half, I thought we ran the offense a little bit better,” Blair said. “The truth was we just missed shots.”
Most notably, Chennedy Carter only made four of her 12 shots for 15 points. Despite having a personal shooting performance below her standard, Carter found production in creating shots for her teammates. She led the Aggies with 9 assists and only turned the ball over once.
“She went into this game to be a good teammate first,” Blair said. “If we would’ve made a couple of threes on the tail end of her passes, she would’ve probably had her career-high in assists.”
Despite a large margin of victory, Coach Blair still thinks his team can perform better. Blair was outspoken about how he believes his team plays to their opponents’ levels and not their own.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Blair said. “What is our level?”
Texas A&M now prepares for their next match-up against Oklahoma State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Aggies will face the Cowboys on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Reed Arena.
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