WBB Thoughts on the Game: No. 6 A&M 76, No. 9 Louisville 58

The festivities started with the raising of the National Championship banner and presentation of the National Championship rings. The banner looks amazing and no, it will not permanently hang in Reed Arena in front of the scoreboard. The plan is for the banner to be hung in one of two spots, either replacing the current Big XII banner in the southeast corner of Reed, or in the middle of the rafters between all the Big XII school banners are hanging.

As always, here are some quick thoughts about the Lady Ags performance tonight:

- Sydney Carter has taken her game to another level. She has always been the toughest player on the court and the hardest working player on the court, but this is her year to shine. Carter played 37 out of 40 minutes tonight and at the end of the game was still the most active player on the floor. She doesn't know any limitations and only understands one speed. Syd is a great role model for not only the younger players on the team but the veterans as well. Not only did she have 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks on the night (which is a heck of a game), but she added 8 steals. Carter was every where on the floor tonight and while she will need to continue at that pace, some of her teammates will need to jump aboard for this team to make it back to the Final Four.

- A&M shot a dismal 45% from the free throw line. They only connected on 11-of-24 foul shots. That's really all you can say about that.

- The Ags also gave up 20 fast break points. That is going to happen from time to time when you apply as much pressure as they do in the back court, but they have to limit the number of easy baskets they give away to their opponents. This number will also happen when they are crashing the offensive glass as hard as they did tonight. The Ags grabbed 28 offensive boards, but I'll talk about that next.

- It was a rough shooting night from behind the 3pt line as the Ags only hit on 3 out of their 18 attempts (16.7%). But with the sluggish performance from the outside, the ladies turned those missed shots into offensive rebounds. The Ags snagged 28 offensive rebounds, resulting in 22 second chance points. It was night and day in the rebounding column for the Aggies from the first to the second game. At the end of the first game, the Ags found themselves out rebounded by double digits. Today, they grabbed 47 total rebounds compared to Louisville's 41. Coach Blair has always wanted to upgrade his roster with height and now that he has, his post players combined for 17 second chance attempts.

- Adrienne Pratcher is making a push to keep her starting spot as the point guard for Gary Blair, as she ended the night with seven points, eight assists, and four rebounds. I have heard the comparisons of her game being similar to Aqua Franklin's but I have never really witnessed it until today. I don't think she is quite the player Aqua was for the Ags just yet, but today's performance gave me more belief that she can work her way to that point. What I saw in the game against Louisville was a PG that understood the game and her teammates and was on the same page as the coaching staff. Pratcher is getting better as she gains more and more game time experience.

- When you think of the Women's basketball team, one of the first things that comes to mind is defense. Louisville was forced into 27 turnovers on the night. When you can make a team commit almost 30 turnovers in a game, it is nearly impossible for that team to get into a rhythm and win. The Ags defense was all over the place. They were pressing in the back court, diving on the post, had hands in the passing lanes, and rotating to weakside help to take the charge. Vic Schaefer has his defensive unit set and prepared to play anyone in the country right now.

The score definitely doesn't reflect the true outcome of the game. The Aggies handled the #9 ranked Cardinals with ease for most of the night. It is also worth mentioning that Louisville came into Reed Arena with one of their star players, Monique Reid, not on the bench. Gary Blair's team started the game with an 8-0 run and never looked back. Their defense was on point and while the offense struggled at times, the baskets seemed to fall as the game moved along. Texas A&M may be one of the better conditioned teams in the country at this point in the season. They were outscored in transition, but it was the full court pressure defense they showed the entire game that made the difference. The Aggies are taking big steps each day to having a great season.