Aggies handle Louisville at Reed,76-58

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (AP) – Kelsey Bone scored 15 points,Sydney Carter added 14 and Tyra White added 13 as No. 6 Texas A&M cruised to a 76-58 win over the shorthanded, ninth-ranked Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday.

The Aggies received their national championship rings and unveiled a banner commemorating their title in a pregame ceremony and the excitement seeped into the game as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead.

It was a lead they never gave up. The Aggies led by nine points with 13 minutes remaining before using an 11-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by freshman Alexia Standish to stretch the lead to 58-38 three minutes later.

The Cardinals were playing without star point guard Shoni Schimmel who was serving the second of a two-game suspension. They were led by Bria Smith’s career-high 20 points.

Schimmel’s suspension came after Louisville reported to the NCAA that she played in a non-sanctioned 3-on-3 summer tournament on her reservation in Oregon.

They were also without Tia Gibbs, who missed the game after injuring her shoulder against Missouri State on Sunday, and Monique Reid, who has back and foot injuries.

The Cardinals were forced into 27 turnovers without Schimmel handling the ball, including six from Smith and five from Shelby Harper.

This was the just the second meeting between these teams and the first since a Louisville win in 1992. It is the first of several tough non-conference games for the Aggies, who will also meet No. 4 Connecticut, No. 16 Purdue and No. 23 Southern Cal before Big 12 play begins.

Bone, who is in her first season with the Aggies after sitting out last year following a transfer from South Carolina, didn’t have a turnover after losing the ball six times in her Texas A&M debut. She also led the team with nine rebounds.

Carter had a career-high eight steals and White grabbed seven rebounds for Texas A&M.

Louisville got within 17 points on a layup by Smith with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining. The Aggies responded with an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 73-49 and put the game farther out of reach.

The Aggies took an early 8-0 lead thanks to four quick points each from White and Bone. The Cardinals didn’t score until Smith hit a pair of free throws with just more than 16 minutes left in the first half to make it 8-2.

Texas A&M was up by 12 points with three minutes remaining in the first half, but Louisville scored six straight points after that to cut the lead to 31-25. But Adaora Elonu hit a jump shot 19 seconds before halftime to give the Aggies a 33-25 lead at the break.

POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES

  • Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne PratcherSydney CarterTyra WhiteAdaora Elonuand Kelsey Bone… It marked the second start of Bone’s Aggie career, the third career start for Pratcher, 56th for Carter, 73rd for White and 76th for Elonu.
  • A&M defeated its highest ranked opponent at home since upsetting No. 6 Duke, 95-77, on Nov. 15, 2009.
  • The Aggies have now won 45 straight non-conference home games, since a 40-46 loss to Houston in December 2003. In addition, A&M has won 72 of its last 79 home games.
  • With the win, Texas A&M evened the all-time series at 1-1.
  • Texas A&M’s 28 offensive rebounds were the most since grabbing 29 against Lamar on Jan. 4, 2010. A&M’s offensive rebound advantage was 28-19.
  • Texas A&M lead by as many as 25 in the second half.
  • The Aggies outscored Louisville in the paint 42-28.
  • The attendance of 6,943 was the largest regular season non-conference crowd in program history.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • White has now started in 60 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
  • White has also scored double figures in her last 11 games (which includes nine from last season)
  • Carter’s career-high eight steals was the most steals by an Aggie since Toccara Williams had nine steals on Jan. 25, 2004 against Texas.
  • Pratcher has another solid game with 7 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
  • Off the bench, Karla Gilbert added 9 points and seven rebounds.
  • Bone and White combined for 11 offensive boards.
  • Blair is just two wins away from 600 career wins (598-242).

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