WBB: Five Thoughts ... No. 5 Texas A&M 57, No. 13 Auburn 47

1. It wasn’t the prettiest of games by any means, but the Aggies ultimately broke a two-game losing streak and picked up their first win with since Jordan Jones tore her ACL against Missouri on February 26th. Sophomore Curtyce Knox has been up-and-down in Jones’ place, but against Auburn on Thursday she put forth a solid performance, scoring seven points while dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds in the win. 

Not only was she statistically solid, but it seemed that her teammates are getting more comfortable with her at the helm which is making the offense flow better. Blair noted in the postgame press conference that one of the reasons they needed to play today instead of getting the double bye was to allow Knox to gain more experience and from that perspective, I would call today’s game a major success.

2. In addition to Knox’s solid play, the A&M bench – and specifically Chelsea Jennings, Rachel Mitchell and Tori Scott – stepped up in a big way. Jennings provided 10 points, four of which came on a pair of steals that she turned into fast break layups. In total, she went 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line in one of her better games of the year.

Rachel Mitchell also had a nice day off the bench. In her 14 minutes of action, the junior from Houston recorded three blocks, but altered many other shots and did a good job guarding Auburn’s starter F/C Tra’Cee Tanner. In addition to her blocks, Mitchell did a good job of just mucking up the paint in general and was able to also grab a pair of steals on the night. Blair referenced Clint Eastwood after the game, saying her play is “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”, but that tonight we saw the good Rachel.

3. A&M’s defensive performance, while not spectacular, was still commendable. The Aggies held the Tigers below their season average field goal percentage and forced Auburn to just 1-of-13 from three-point range (8%). Also, the Aggies picked up nine steals and eight blocks on their way to forcing 17 turnovers. A&M then turned those 17 turnovers into 14 points. In postgame, Blair went as far to say his half court defense was “outstanding”. Needless to say, that’ll be something that will need to continue against LSU tomorrow.

4. Unlike the past two contests where the Aggies have seem somewhat flat from the get-go, A&M came out with a good amount of energy and scored early. Over the game’s first eight minutes, A&M shot 6-of-11 from the field, which isn’t a bad mark in itself. Now consider the added bonus that of their five misses, they were able to grab the offensive rebound and score on a put-back three of those times. The level of competition was obviously different, but having a start like that and not starting the game playing from behind like they did against LSU last Sunday can make a world of difference over the course of a game.

5. Speaking of LSU, Thursday’s win sets up the third meeting of the year with the school across the Sabine. A&M won the first contest at Reed by seven points, while LSU defeated the Aggies by 15 in A&M’s first game without Jordan Jones last Sunday. In that game, LSU guard DaShawn Harden went for 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-of-8 from three) and guard Danielle Ballard added 20 more for the Tigers. 

If the Aggies are to take the ‘rubber match’ from LSU tomorrow, it’ll start with the defensive play on LSU’s guards. After the game today, Courtney Williams noted that in order to stop them, they’ll need to attack Harden hard off screens and make her beat them by putting it on the floor. With Ballard and the other guards, Williams noted that they simply need to stick to the game plan better than they did last time. If A&M is able to do so and pick up the victory, a possible matchup with top-seeded South Carolina most likely awaits in the semifinals.