Five Thoughts: Texas A&M 70, North Dakota 55

A big thanks to Katy (Pounds) Lee, who helped me with these five thoughts.

1. Point guard success - Jordan Jones played exactly how a good point guard should be playing at this point in the season. College basketball, no matter if we are talking about men or women, is a guard-dominated sport and Gary Blair has a very good lead guard at the helm of his program.

Jones ended the game with eight points, 11 assists (2 turnovers), three rebounds and a steal. She controlled the tempo of the game and jump-started the Aggies' run in the second half that proved to be too much for UND. Her ability to lead the team and understanding of when to push in transition and when to slow down the pace and execute the offense is immeasurable.

2. Transition offense - We watched two plays last night that any coach would be proud to see their kids execute. The first play in transition started with Courtney Walker bringing the ball down the court and attacking the basket to draw two defenders; she then passed the ball to Jones, who was standing in front of the A&M bench. Jones jumped to catch the pass and before landing back on the ground, she passed the ball to a streaking Courtney Williams down the middle of the lane, who laid it in and got fouled.

The second play in transition, while not as flashy, may be one of the most well executed plays all season. After a North Dakota score A&M grabbed the ball and inbounded to Jones, who was already running up the right sideline. Jordan cought the ball and, without taking a dribble, passed it up the floor diagonally to a sprinting Curtyce Knox. Knox caught the ball in stride at the A&M free throw line, took two steps and laid the ball in untouched. A&M scored in less than four seconds and only made two passes with no dribbles. Perfect execution.

3. Stale start - While they won and are moving on to the second round, the Aggie women didn't play their best game against North Dakota. Sometimes it's hard for a team who hasn't competed in over two weeks to get its legs and minds in game condition and it showed last night in the first half. The silver lining is that most teams would continue to struggle in the second half. But this A&M team found a way to knock the rust off in a hurry and made a statement in the last 20 minutes of play.

4. Post presence - If Karla Gilbert gets in foul trouble, Blair and company are going to have to find a viable replacement to fulfill her missing minutes. When Gilbert left the game A&M struggled, moreso at the defensive end of the court. Rachel Mitchell and/or Jada Terry will need to make more of an impact on the game if their number is called down the line in this tournament.

5. Run, run as fast as you can - A&M made UND play out of its comfort zone and ultimately forced the tempo of the game to a pace that was only beneifical for the maroon and white. The game turned into a track meet and North Dakota didn't have the personnel or the tools to compete at that level. In the post-game presser Madi Buck mentioned that they tried to keep up with the Ags but there was no chance of that happening, which is what ultimately led to the lopsided advantage.