Chennedy Carter scores 28 as No. 14 Texas A&M holds off Florida late, 85-80
The No. 14 Aggies fought off the Florida Gators to get back in the win column 85-80 on BTHO Breast Cancer Night at Reed Arena.
With the game still in reach for Florida, freshman guard Chennedy Carter took over in the fourth quarter. Carter scored nine points in the final frame, including a three to put A&M ahead by six with just over a minute left at 80-74. Carter finished the game with 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds, commanding the floor all night long. Carter had a key assist late, finding Jasmine Lumpkin on a pass to put the Aggies up by five.
“I just feel like I took what the defense was giving me,” Carter said. “I feel like I was knocking down shots the whole fourth quarter and I was pretty confident. My teammates kept the confidence in me, my coach told me to shoot it if I was open…”
Head coach Gary Blair said he was proud of Carter for bouncing back from Sunday's loss to LSU, when she finished with only eight points.
“The other good thing was Chennedy coming off of her worst game of the year, played a solid game out there tonight," Blair said. "So let’s give her a lot of credit.”
Heading into the half, Florida led A&M by six by shooting well on the perimeter and feeding forward Haley Lorenzen inside the paint. Delicia Washington made a few three-pointers, as did her teammate Funda Nakkasoglu. The Aggies didn’t take the lead again until the third quarter and traded leads until near the end of the game.
The halftime adjustments were key — the Aggies started to press in the second half and forced Florida into turnovers by playing tighter defense.
“At halftime, we had one steal — we got four in the second half,” Blair said. “We only forced 12 turnovers, but those turnovers were crucial in the second half when we got into the press and started doing some things well.”
The other offensive leaders for the Aggies included Anriel Howard, who put up 21 points and 12 rebounds, a performance Coach Blair called "one of her best overall ballgames.”
Danni Williams finished with 15 points and made key free throws late in the fourth quarter to keep A&M in front. Jasmine Lumpkin started and played in and out of the rotation, finishing with 10 points.
The Aggies will return to action Sunday when they travel to take on Mississippi State in Starkville. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN 2.
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