Aggies give Blair 600th win; beat MSU 93-47

Gary Blair gets 600th win
Gary Blair gets 600th win

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (AP) — Kelsey Bone had 20 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 6 Texas A&M handle Mississippi State 93-47 on Sunday and get Aggies coach Gary Blair his 600th career victory.

He has won 192 with the Aggies.

Texas A&M (4-0) was up by 25 points early in the second half before going on a 14-0 run to make it 65-26 and put the game out of reach. The Lady Bulldogs, who made just five field goals in the first half to get in an early hole, had four turnovers in that span.

Mississippi State (3-1) was led by Diamber Johnson’s 14 points.

Karla Gilbert added 12 points and Tyra White and Adrienne Pratcher scored 11 points each for the defending national champion Aggies.

Mississippi State couldn’t contend with Texas A&M’s stifling defense from the outset. The 6-foot-4 Bone made it nearly impossible for the Lady Bulldogs to get the ball in the lane for easy shots and they were unable to connect from long range, going 1 of 14 from 3-point range.

They shot just 25 percent to A&M’s almost 56 percent and were forced into 18 turnovers. More than half of Johnson’s points came off free throws as she was just 3 of 16 on field goals.

Bone, in her first season with the Aggies after sitting out last year following a transfer from South Carolina, has improved in each game this year and Sunday was the 10th double-double of her career and first at Texas A&M.

It was the first meeting between these schools who will play in the same conference next season when the Aggies leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

It’s Texas A&M’s last home game until the Aggies host No. 23 Southern Cal on Dec. 18. They will play five straight games away from College Station, starting with a post-Thanksgiving tournament in the Bahamas followed by games at No. 16 Purdue, No. 4 Connecticut and TCU.

Blair becomes the 22nd Division I coach to reach 600 wins and is one of 13 active coaches in the division to reach the mark. Blair had 210 wins at Stephen F. Austin and 198 at Arkansas before taking over in College Station in 2003.

He was honored with a video played in the arena after the win featuring congratulations from several former players and his family. After the video his team presented him with a bouquet of roses and a framed Texas A&M jersey bearing the number 600.

Mississippi State scored first with a pair of free throws from Porsha Porter before Texas A&M scored 17 straight points, led by eight points by Bone to make it 17-2 about seven minutes into the game. Porter finished with 12 points.

The Lady Bulldogs missed their first 12 shots and didn’t get a field goal until a jump shot by Porter with less than nine minutes left in the first half. By then the Aggies had extended their lead to 25-6.

Mississippi State made just five baskets in the first half, but made 11 of 12 free throws to leave A&M ahead 43-21 at halftime.

 

POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone… It marked the fourth start of Bone’s Aggie career, the fifth career start for Pratcher, 58th for Carter, 75th for White and 78th for Elonu.

• The Aggies have now won 46 straight non-conference home games, since a 40-46 loss to Houston in December 2003. In addition, A&M has won 73 of its last 80 home games.

• Texas A&M improves to 1-0 in the all-time series with Mississippi State.

• A&M’s 11-minute span of holding Mississippi State without a field goal to start the game is the longest in the Gary Blair Era.

• For the third time this season, five different Aggies reached double figures (Bone, Gilbert, White, Pratcher and Adaora Elonu).

• With a season-high 23 assists, the Aggies tallied 20 or more assists for the first time this season.

• The Aggies also had season highs in points (93), field goal percentage (55.9) field goals made (38), and rebounds (53).

• The 46-point margin of victory was the largest since also outscoring ULM by 46 on Jan 4, 2011.

• Texas A&M held Mississippi State to season lows in field goal percentage (25%), rebounds (27), field goals made (14) and attempted (56), and 3-point field goal percentage (7.1%). The Aggies forced the Lady Bulldogs into a season-high 18 turnovers.

 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Head Coach Gary Blair became the 25th-fastest all-time coach to reach 600 victories with a 600-242 career record.

• White has now started in 62 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.

• White has also scored double figures in her last 13 games (which includes nine from last season)

• Bone’s 20 points were an Aggie career high as were her 13 rebounds.

• Pratcher’s 11 points were a career high.

• Freshman Tori Scott contributed a season-high 6 points.

• After a career performance against UALR, senior Skylar Collins added 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting, four rebounds, a block and a steal in just nine minutes on the court.

 

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