Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M point guard Jordan Jones struggled with foul trouble in the first half on Saturday, but still finished the game with 11 points and six assists.
Five Thoughts: #3 Texas A&M 84, #7 DePaul 65
1. Your Texas Aggies are headed to their third Elite Eight in seven years. Although they have yet to face a team higher than a seven-seed, they have taken care of their business and waltzed their way to double-digit victories in all three NCAA Tournament games they have played so far. Against DePaul on Saturday night, A&M lead wire-to-wire and the game was really never in question after the first 10 minutes or so. The Aggies not only looked better on the floor, but proved to be so in the stat book as well by outshooting the Blue Demons 60%-40%, winning the rebound battle 38-29, dominating points in the paint 44-38 (with a good portion of those for DePaul coming late in the second half) and outscoring DePaul 20-10 in points off turnovers to name just a few.
Additionally, A&M did an absolutely fantastic job of corralling the Blue Demons’ offensive attack early in the game when it mattered most. DePaul came in averaging 89 points per game in the tournament (including 104 IN REGULATION against Oklahoma in the first round) and 44% from behind the arc, but the Aggies held the Blue Demons to just 24 points in the first half and 2-of-9 from deep to build their 14-point halftime lead.
2. What can you say about A&M sophomore Courtney Walker? She’s just special. In five postseason games this year, the sophomore is averaging a ridiculous 22.6 points per game. On Saturday she scored a game high 25 and decided to throw in three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals as well. Oh yeah, and she did it on 9-of-12 shooting. At any level, a guard hitting 75% from the field is a formula for success. In the post-game press conference, DePaul head coach Doug Bruno was more than complimentary of Walker and noted her intermediate game was something very few players possessed.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M point guard Jordan Jones struggled with foul trouble in the first half on Saturday, but still finished the game with 11 points and six assists.
3. If you’re able to pick up a double-digit victory in the Sweet Sixteen, you know you have a solid team. However, I got the feeling while watching Saturday’s game that A&M could have played even better. A&M head coach Gary Blair has said on multiple occasions that this team goes how point guard Jordan Jones goes. While it wasn’t what I would consider a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, Jones had an ‘average’ game for the first time in a while. For the first time in seven games, Jones was held under 10 assists and turned the ball over six times. She added 11 points, but got in foul trouble during the first period and had to sit for the last few minutes of the half.
She wasn’t the only one who got whistled either. At one point during the first, Walker was A&M’s lone starter on the floor because the other four were sitting on the bench in foul trouble. However, the bench came up big (more on that in a moment) and it was ultimately a non-issue.
4. Speaking of A&M’s bench play, the reserves put together a great game at the right time and were a crucial part to Saturday’s win. As I mentioned in the previous point, the A&M starters found themselves in foul trouble during the first half, but the bench stepped up during an important stretch of the game. Achiri Ade gave the Aggies seven rebounds, Tavarsha Scott-Williams pulled down five, and Rachel Mitchell added two blocks.
Additionally, in a contest that was decided with guard play, Curtyce Knox was thrown into the fire in the first half at point guard and went 2-of-2 from the floor and guard Chelsea Jennings knocked down three timely shots to finish the game with six points. Obviously, you would like to see your starters stay out of foul trouble, but knowing you have some solid options off the bench is definitely a luxury some teams can’t afford.
5. Finally, we look ahead to Monday’s contest against the Connecticut Huskies. In perhaps one of their worst games of the season, UCONN still managed to pick up a 19-point victory over BYU. Now 37-0 on the season, the Huskies are on a quest to defend their 2013 title and will be an extremely tough task for the Aggies. To put into perspective just how dominant Connecticut has been this season, think about this for a second: The closest any team has come to defeating the Huskies was when Baylor lost to them by 11 in Waco earlier this season. That includes games against top competition like Stanford, Penn State, Maryland, and multiple contests against Louisville.
But not many gave A&M a chance to upset Baylor in the 2011 regional finals in Dallas either. However, if A&M was to pull the upset on Monday and make their second Final Four in school history, it would be an even bigger shock than defeating the Bears three years back.
Five additional thoughts from former radio announcer Tom Turbiville
1. Poise, Poise, Poise. That's why the Aggies are in the Elite Eight for the third time in program history. If I knew the X's and O's reasons I'd be coaching, but I know what I saw tonight: discipline, great shooting (60%), suffocating defense.
2. Poise as in playing the first 20 minutes like they owned the joint. Poise because when DePaul cut a 22-point deficit to 10, A&M didn't panic, played their game, listened.
3. Speaking of no panic, did this Aggie defense not realize that DePaul scored 104 points against Oklahoma and 74 to beat Duke at Cameron? They were averaging 84 points a game and A&M held them to a season low 65. I think DePaul came in thinking they'd win this game. They'd won 19 of their last 20 for heaven’s sakes.
4. The confidence that this team has right now is their very best weapon going against powerhouse Connecticut.
5. Connecticut played awful today and beat a good BYU team by 19. Certainly Coach Auriemma has given them an earful. The last time the Aggies made it to the Elite Eight and lost was 2008 when Coach Summit's Tennessee Volunteers beat A&M by eight in Oklahoma City. Candace Parker scored 26 with a dislocated shoulder. Can A&M beat the mighty Huskie? Sure they can. Just do what they did Saturday night and that's the best they can do. See you Monday night, Aggies.
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list
SPONSORED BY
