Story by Brandon Collins, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M women’s basketball fell to LSU, 74-58, inside Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.
A&M (14-10, 4-8 SEC) was led by Kayla Wells who recorded the eighth 20-point game of her season. Wells poured in 23 points, going 9-of-16 from the field. Aaliyah Patty registered the fourth double-double of her senior campaign, posting 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding a team-high four blocks.
The Tigers (21-4, 9-3 SEC) started the game on a 6-0 run and the Aggies did not net their first basket until the 5:18 mark of the first quarter. A&M would battle back, cutting into the deficit as the period went on. The Maroon & White was down three with .9 seconds remaining, and after an inbounds play to McKinzie Green, the junior launched the ball from 30 feet and banked in the first triple of her career to tie the game, 16-16, heading into the second.
After leaving the game due to injury, Wells would erupt on the offensive end to start the new quarter. At one point, the longtime Aggie accounted for half of A&M’s points, posting 13 as the Maroon & White took a 26-21 lead with 5:51 remaining. LSU would only make three field goals the entire quarter as the A&M defense, anchored by Patty, stunned LSU’s offensive production, forcing the Tigers to tie their lowest first-half offensive output this season. A&M took a 33-27 lead into break.
LSU opened the new half on a 10-4 run, tying the game at 37-37 at the 6:12 mark in the third. The two teams would go back-and-forth throughout the rest of the frame, but the Tigers took a 54-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the Tigers second half decided the outcome. LSU outscored A&M by 11 in the final frame, winning the contest, 74-58.
Up Next
The Texas A&M women’s basketball team will hit the road to take on Ole Miss on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. CT.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M falls to 14-10 overall this season and 4-8 in conference play.
The Aggies are now 16-18 all-time against the Tigers.
TEAM NOTES
The Maroon & White recorded 16 assists to LSU’s 10, marking the 12th time this season A&M has outperformed its opponent in assists.
Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Qadashah Hoppie, Jordan Nixon, Kayla Wells, Destiny Pitts and Aaliyah Patty for the sixth time this season (5-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Kayla wells tallied 23 points, her fourth highest of the season. The Dallas native has now scored 10-or-more points in 87 games throughout her career and is fifth all-time on the A&M scoring list (1,710).
Wells, the SEC’s leading 3-point shooter, went 3-of-5 from downtown and is now shooting 50% from deep this season.
Aaliyah Patty produced the fourth double-double of her season after scoring 11 points and bringing down 10 rebounds.
Patty blocked four shots, marking the third game this season that she has swatted four-or-more field goal attempts in a game.
Jordan Nixon dished out five assists, having now posted five-or-more dimes in three-straight games.
Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Famer Gary Blair moves to 852-343 in his career with a 444-180 record at Texas A&M.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
She [Kim Mulkey] likes to play six players, and she’s got the best combination of guards in the league. I give her credit for the ball-screening action late because we couldn’t guard them off of the screen. The thing that set the tone early in the ball game was our inexcusable fouls. You have a good officiating crew out there but when our technique is that bad on some of the things that we were doing, somebody has to blow a whistle. Somewhere we have to become more educated on not just playing hard. I think it’s the situation when they haven’t learned, then we haven’t taught as a coaching staff. That is on us five coaches. We’re not going to play the perfect game, we’re not a transition team. What we are is a half-court defensive team and a half-court offensive team. When those things let down, you get outrebounded and everyone’s trying to be a hero.
Redshirt Junior Guard Jordan Nixon
On today’s game…
“We talk about it all the time; basketball is a game of ebbs and flows. We found our flow in the first half and LSU did in the third quarter. They found their flow and they stayed with it. We were not able to come back. We took a punch and never recovered from it.”
On the momentum of the game…
“You need energy from somewhere and we have the mentality to score, stop, score or stop, score, stop. It has to start somewhere, and we were never able to truly string together that group of three, so it is hard to find momentum in that way.”