Strong showing on the boards lead Aggies to 79-58 win over Duke
The No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies dominated the Duke Blue Devils on Sunday night, winning 79-58. The Aggies move to 2-0 after finishing their fourth game in 10 days, including two exhibitions.
The Aggies came out strong in the first quarter, leading 16-7 before Duke made a small run with 1:27 left in the quarter. After Duke took advantage of a few turnovers, the quarter ended with a score of 18-12.
Duke’s successful efforts continued throughout the second quarter, with both teams trading baskets until halftime. The Aggies finished the half with a 33-30 lead and held a 24-14 rebounding advantage. Texas A&M controlled the offensive glass with 12 offensive rebounds.
“Me and my team have that mindset of going to get the ball so we can get a second opportunity at scoring,” junior N’dea Jones said. “We have the mentality in practice to send three to the boards every time.”
Texas A&M came out hot in the second half, outscoring Duke 19-8 before the Blue Devils called a timeout with 2:40 left in the third quarter. The Aggies’ offense spread the ball impressively, with Cierra Johnson leading them in scoring with 6 points in the quarter. After a narrow contest in the first half, the Aggies leadership was responsible for a strong third quarter, where they outscored the Blue Devils by eight points.
“I’ve got a lot of coaches and I’ve got good leaders, particularly in Cierra and Sham and Wilson,” coach Gary Blair said. “Have you ever seen Coach Starkey satisfied over there on the bench? I haven’t.”
The Aggies only maintained their momentum going into the fourth quarter. Texas A&M outscored Duke 24-14 in the fourth, finishing the game with a 21-point victory. Texas A&M had a strong showing the boards with a 47-26 advantage. Duke’s head coach Joanne McCallie took note of the rebounding discrepancy, attributing it as one of the main reasons they lost.
“The rebounding stats tell the whole story pretty much,” Coach McCallie said. “40 and 31 caused us a great deal of error, not to mention 12 off the bench.”
Chennedy Carter shined in the game with 25 points, four rebounds and three steals. Her teammates even admitted that sometimes they marvel at how spectacular Chennedy Carter is for them.
“Sometimes I am amazed, especially when she takes on three people sometimes,” Jones said smiling. “When I get the ball to her, I kind of already know she’s about to cross that person up, or she’s about to take it to the rim.”
The Aggies had three other scorers in double digits. Ciera Johnson, Kayla Wells and Shambria Washington had 14 points, 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Texas A&M made it a goal to have four of their five starters score in double digits, and they were successful.
“At the beginning of every game, Coach Blair has keys for what it takes to win,” junior Shambria Washington said. “One of was the goals four out of five in double digits.”
Coach Blair only had one other goal going into this game.
“Just get the W,” coach Blair said. “Just get the W. We made it a little hard on ourselves, but remember – four games in ten days.”
Texas A&M will get the day off tomorrow before they begin preparing for the Rice Owls. Their next game is set for Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m. in Houston.
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