No. 1 Gamecocks prove to be too much as Texas A&M drops another, 65-45
The odds were stacked against Texas A&M coming into today’s game.
In fact, the Aggies had never knocked off an opponent ranked atop the AP Poll, entering 0-16 all-time against top-ranked units.
Yet for a moment, it would have been hard to envision the Aggies on the wrong side of a 65-45 blowout against No. 1 South Carolina after Kayla Wells managed to tie the game 12 seconds into the third quarter with a jumper down the middle, 26-26.
But the Gamecocks took over and erased every possibility of an upset bid the Aggies had built.
South Carolina embarked upon a 15-4 run with a trey from guard Destanni Henderson in response to Wells’ tying point, and the Gamecocks soon had enough fuel to run away with the win.
Once again, fourth-quarter struggles hurdled any sign of life on the offensive end with Wells’ lone free throw being the only score until Qadashah Hoppie’s 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining. Hoppie ultimately finished with 15 points in a team-high 40 minutes.
Wells scored 11 to continue her streak of double-digit scoring in every game this season.
“They did their job, and that was their game plan. They wanted to make it tough and be physical. They played South Carolina basketball,” A&M guard Jordan Nixon said. “I do think we responded well, but they made us think twice, and that is the name of the game when you’re playing a team of this caliber.”
Ultimately, South Carolina’s size was too much to overcome.
Forward Aliyah Boston — who stands 6-foot-5 — found the hot hand and posted a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Center Kamilla Cardoso — who stands 6-foot-7 — contributed six rebounds to the Gamecocks’ 53-31 rebounding edge and played a big role in holding A&M to 29 percent shooting.
“They had some pretty hard hedges,” Hoppie said. “You know they had 6-6 and 6-7 coming at us. Sometimes when you have taller players running at you, you may flick your wrist a little quicker than usual.
“Being composed and taking your regular shot is what we needed to focus on a little bit more.”
With Destiny Pitts and Sahara Jones missing from the lineup, the effort of A&M’s bench never wavered, outscoring South Carolina 12-11 and providing a punch that kept them in the game for a couple of unexpected stretches.
With tonight’s loss, the Aggies have lost four consecutive and fall to 10-6 on the season. A&M is still looking for its first conference win, sitting 0-4 in SEC action.
However, the Aggies refuse to count themselves out with 12 games remaining.
“When you get knocked down nine times, you get up 10. We were 1-4 in the Big 12 to start conference play in 2007-08,” A&M head coach Gary Blair said. “We went to the Elite 8 that year, had Tennessee up five with six to go, and couldn’t finish the deal with Candace Parker in her last year.”
“As soon as you give up on Aggies, we will find a way to get back.”