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Texas A&M Women's Basketball

Shooting struggles plague Aggies in loss to No. 11 West Virginia, 70-56

December 3, 2017
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Texas A&M saw its four-game winning streak snapped at the hands of No. 11 West Virginia, falling 70-56 in Sunday night’s contest at Reed Arena.

The Mountaineers’ Teana Muldrow led all scorers with 24 points while the Aggies had three players reach double-digit scoring, with Chennedy Carter leading the way with 20 points.

“This is definitely not going to be our last loss, and it’s definitely not going to be our last win,” A&M head coach Gary Blair said after the game. “We have a good basketball team, and everything has to be right for us to be playing with top-ten teams.”

Khaalia Hillsman recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Jasmine Lumpkin chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.

Hillsman made her first three shots from the field and looked like she might control the low post, but West Virginia adjusted its defense. When the Aggies started cold from the perimeter, they weren’t as effective offensively.

The Aggies scored the last six points of a tightly contested first half to cut the deficit to 30-28 heading into halftime.

“I thought it was ours for the taking,” Blair said of A&M’s strong finish to the first half. “We just kept fighting from behind. They kept executing, and we just didn’t do it.”

The third quarter was a different story, however, as West Virginia made a layup on the first possession and proceeded to dominate the rest of the way.

The third quarter was a different story, however.

West Virginia made a layup on the first possession and proceeded to dominate the rest of the way.

The Mountaineers continued to extend their lead into the middle of the fourth quarter, going on a 15-2 run at one point to stretch their lead to 19.

“They have a chance to be an Elite Eight team — I think they’re a very, very good basketball team,” Blair said of West Virginia. “We’ve tried this year to make a schedule that even when we play mid-level teams, we’re playing well-coached mid-level teams. That’s going to get us ready for conference play.”

Texas A&M made the final score a bit more respectable with a trio of three-pointers to end the game, but still shot a paltry 33.3 percent on the night.

“You’re going to have nights like that,” Carter said of the Aggies’ shooting struggles. “I just kept shooting, kept moving the ball, kept getting my teammates involved. They started falling at the end, but it was a little bit too late.”

Danni Williams was held without a field goal, going 0-for-8 from the floor, and as a team the Aggies were 4-of-16 from behind the arc.

The Mountaineers controlled the paint throughout the night and outscored A&M 18-4 in transition as West Virginia controlled the game from start to finish.

“This is a big win for us,” West Virginia head coach Mike Carey said after the game. “It was kind of a sloppy game, but I told our team I’d rather win sloppy than lose pretty.”

The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Wednesday, December 6, for Elementary School Day. Opening tip is scheduled for 11 a.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.

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Shooting struggles plague Aggies in loss to No. 11 West Virginia, 70-56

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