Patty's 20-point double-double carries No. 23 A&M to 77-51 win over UTSA
The UTSA Roadrunners were only down seven points midway through the third quarter Monday afternoon when No. 23 Texas A&M began to re-establish the double-digit lead that once extended to 22 points off back-to-back and-1 opportunities from graduate guard Qadashah Hoppie.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Aggies held a 26-point margin to top UTSA, 77-51, behind an impressive 20-point, 18-rebound double-double from senior Aaliyah Patty.
“I guess it was just a good day for me,” Patty said. “I was just trying to do whatever I could offensively and defensively. My shots were falling for me today.”
Destiny Pitts and Hoppie also contributed a healthy 14 and 13 points, respectively, by virtue of the team’s relatively efficient 44 percent shooting clip.
Despite the absences of regular starting lineup fixtures Kayla Wells, Jordan Nixon and freshman reserve forward Jada Malone — for non-disciplinary reasons or injuries — A&M’s depth shined through in the face of a persistent comeback effort from UTSA as the Roadrunners outscored the Aggies 22-14 in the third quarter.
Both sides fared evenly in the final box score, but inside domination ultimately allowed the Maroon & White to run away.
Patty chipped in five blocks in addition to Sydnee Roby’s four to give A&M a 14-4 edge in rejections. Both players combined to make up just over half (26) of the Aggies’ 51-42 advantage in rebounds.
But for a moment, UTSA’s Ceyenne Mass had the Aggies on their toes after scoring 12 of her 14 points in the third quarter.
A&M managed to slow down the Roadrunners heading into the final stanza with a renewed double-digit lead that left UTSA in the dust with a bleak seven-point performance in the fourth.
After battling through their fair share of tests in non-conference play, Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is set for SEC play beginning next Thursday as Vanderbilt makes their way into College Station.
“The best thing we did today was not overshooting the three,” Blair said. “Too many teams are concerned with shooting a lot of threes, and so instead of being satisfied with 5-for-12, they end up shooting 7-for-20.”
“I want inside, outside, mid-range and fast breaks. I want the whole package offensively, and we will continue to work on that before we start SEC play.”
UPDATE: A&M head coach Gary Blair later specified in postgame press conference that Nixon, Wells and Malone were out due to Covid protocols.