The Texas A&M women's basketball team returned to Reed Arena after defeating TCU on the road on Thursday. This time the women welcomed the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to town and sent them off in dominating fashion.
From the start, the Aggies applied plenty of defensive pressure. In total, the team forced 30 turnovers, while only committing 16 of their own. Coming out of halftime, the pressure was amplified as the Aggies went to a heavy press which resulted in plenty of steal opportunities. Anriel Howard notched five steals and Curtyce Knox had four of her own. Six other Aggies also collected steals on the afternoon.
"I liked how the team responded at halftime because we were not moving very well in the first half," said head coach Gary Blair. "It does not matter how many players you play. That is why I had to go with the press to get some movement, force turnovers and see if our kids would play a little bit harder."
The Aggies would respond by forcing a third of those turnovers in the third period.
Anriel Howard led the charge for the Aggies by putting up a double-double. She contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds to go along with those five steals. Averaging more than 12 rebounds a game, six of her boards Saturday came on the offensive end. A key statistic for Howard is that she had five assists on the day. Coming into the game, she only had three assists to her name all season. The Aggies dominated the Islanders 23-8 in the assist column.
"I believe my mid-range has gotten much better since last year, but I haven't been finishing like i want to," said Howard of her play. "I need to make sure I square my shoulders when I drive. I am still working on it."
Danni Williams continued her stellar play by dropping 18 points while only making one three pointer. Khaalia Hillsman contributed 12 points to round out the list of double digit scorers. Taylor Cooper fell just outside that mark with nine points. Curtyce Knox added six points and nine assists.
A big part of this game was the play of the bench players. Hillsman was forced into foul trouble, eventually fouling out, so Walnatia Wright was thrust onto the court. She would respond positively by contributing four points, two rebounds, one block, and two steals in eighteen minutes played. But Wright wasn't the only bench player who contributed to the win. In total the Aggies played 11 different players, and the bench put 26 points on the scoreboard.
"This was a game where we just had to learn how to play hard," said Blair. "I think our kids did a good job of that today. I want this to be a game where our freshman and Walnatia Wright can look at the tape and know where they could have done better."
The Aggies' next game is December 17th in Houston against Southern University. In addition to aiming to continue the momentum of the past two games, they will participate in some community service on the trip.
"We are going to take the team to the children's hospital down in Houston on Friday," said Blair. What we are going to do at the hospital is going to be just as good for us as it will be for the kids. It will let our kids realize just how lucky they are to have the opportunity to go to school and be healthy. It is time to give back, it is called Christmas."
The Aggies will take on the Lady Jaguars at 2 p.m. on the 17th at the Campbell Center in Houston.
