Texas A&M battles past SMU, 67-55, on Elementary School Day

After two games in Hawaii and a nearly eight-hour plane flight back to Texas over the weekend, fatigue was expected for the Texas A&M women’s basketball team as they took on SMU on Monday afternoon in the annual Elementary School Day game.

In front of an announced crowd of 8,004 fans – including over 4,300 elementary school students from across the Brazos Valley – the 15th-ranked Aggies battled tired legs and overcame a late surge by the Mustangs to post a 67-55 victory at Reed Arena.

“We played three games in less than 54 hours,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair. “It showed, it really showed. I think SMU realized that and their eyes lit up in the second half.”

The Aggies (7-2) were led by Courtney Williams who scored 16 and added six rebounds, and Courtney Walker who poured in 15 and had five boards of her own. Additionally, Khaalia Hillsman added 12 points while Jordan Jones scored six and dished out seven assists.

For the Mustangs, it was forward Alicia Froling who led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while guard Ashley Gibson scored 17 more in the losing effort.

After leading 41-28 at the halftime break, A&M rattled off a quick 7-2 run to start the third quarter and took an 18-point lead, their largest of the game. But with the Aggies already battling fatigue, SMU (3-5) changed the pace of the game and tested A&M’s tired legs.

And it worked.

Over the quarter’s final four minutes, the Mustangs pushed the tempo and used a 12-0 run to cut the lead down to just five with 40 seconds to play in the third.

“We were hoping in the second half when A&M didn’t have their legs that we’d be able to make a run,” said SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola. “A&M let up a bit on defense and let their guard down a bit. We were able to take advantage of it.”

However, the Aggies made the necessary plays on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter, including allowing just seven points in the final 10 minutes, to ultimately come away with the 12-point victory.

Had it not been for the many school kids in attendance that were constantly making noise and giving Reed Arena a unique buzz, Jones says that the game could have ended differently.

“I really appreciate the kids for coming out,” said Jones. “Having them here uplifted us today with their energy. I don’t think we could have pulled this one out today without them. They made us perform the way we did today.”

Blair echoed her sentiment.

“If y’all soccer fans remember over in South Africa for the World Cup, those long horns that gave (the stadium) a buzz the whole game,” said Blair. “ That’s what it sounded like. I thought it was very special. The energy that they gave us, we could not have done it unless we had those kids.”

After the recent flurry of games, the Aggies now get a few days to recover before hosting DePaul on Saturday at 2 pm. The game will mark the third straight year the Aggies and Blue Demons have met with A&M defeating DePaul 84-65 in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2014 NCAA Tournament and then again 76-68 in non-conference action last season.

“DePaul played Connecticut about as good as anyone in the country,” said Blair. “They are up-tempo and they are fast. What we’ve got to do is recover and get our legs in shape to play that style of ball."