No. 12 Texas A&M defeated TCU 82-78 at Reed Arena on Saturday, pushing the Aggies’ record to 4-0 for the eighth time in the past nine years.
Courtney Walker, who scored 20+ points for the second straight game, put the Horned Frogs (3-1) away with just over five seconds remaining, making a layup that increased A&M’s lead to four. Walker had 23 points off of 10-14 shooting and eight rebounds in the game.
Courtney Williams, who had 17 points, scored with 5:36 remaining in the fourth period to give A&M its first lead since the first. A&M went ahead for good on a Chelsea Jennings layup with 1:55 to play.
Jordan Jones had 17 points and nine assists for the Aggies.
The win is no. 699 for Gary Blair‘s career, putting him one win away from becoming the 16th Division I coach with 700 wins.
A&M’s win moves the all-time series to 34-4 in A&M’s favor, with a 19-0 mark at home for the Aggies.
TCU had hot shooting from long-range, tying a Reed Arena record with 11 3-pointers made. AJ Alix led the Frogs with 24 points on 9-of-11 field goals.
The Aggies return to action on Friday, Nov. 27 against No. 21 Cal in the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas, Nev. A&M returns to Reed Arena on Dec. 7 to host SMU on Elementary School Day at 11 a.m.
QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On TCU’s performance….
“It’s not what we didn’t do, it’s what TCU did. Over these years I’ve heard so many coaches get up here and complain. Why not just give TCU a little bit of credit? They stayed in the game because every time we would make a run and get the crowd into it, they would hit another one and another one. We felt like we were fighting hard the whole ball game just to get it to even. TCU is sort of the new kid on the block, sort of like we were. Now I think TCU is going to fit in the top four in the league over there. So I think they’re here to stay, but we’re not going anywhere either.”
On Texas A&M’s performance…
“The resiliency of this team is pretty amazing to me. My five seniors stepped up tonight. All five of them played big time minutes. It’s going to be a sad day when they graduate because we couldn’t really use our depth in this game. We only had nine turnovers, and our first six were in the first six minutes of the game. They played Wednesday night just like us, on the road. We were both playing off of fumes, pride, and talent. In the second half I knew our legs were gone so I said quit shooting the jump shots, take it in, drive, and try to get to the foul line.”
On Jordan Jones‘ leadership…
“That girl played her butt off. 39 minutes, there’s no way she needs to be playing that many minutes back to back games coming off of ACL [surgery]. We would not have won that game had it not been for Jordan Jones and her senior leadership and what she could do.”
Texas A&M Sophomore Khaalia Hillsman
On tonight’s slow start against TCU…
“Our sense of urgency was not there. The Duke game took a lot out of us, and I think the fatigue got to us. I think they came out with a whole bunch of intensity, and we didn’t match it in the first half.”
On preparing for the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas…
“We can’t be stuck in the past with Duke, because we didn’t come out right in this game. The next five practices will be really important since we do play Ohio State and Cal in Vegas.”
Texas A&M Senior Courtney Williams
On last year’s meeting against TCU…
“Last year, we were more focused because we didn’t just finish playing Duke. We weren’t hung up on the game before them. We more focused last year on just coming in and playing TCU. The distance of the games last year helped.”
TCU Head Coach Raegan Pebley
Opening statement…
“I’m proud of our team and the effort they played with, the intensity, the way they prepared, and the confidence they came into this game with. Obviously, we wanted to see this turn out another way and get a win. But when it came down to it at the very end, we didn’t execute well enough. Close games like this go the teams the rebound better and execute better.”
“Our identity is to sustain effort for however long we have to play. If we’re not doing that, then TCU is not on the floor.”
“Both teams had to dig down. Both teams had to rely on their teammates. It was a great basketball game for both teams and both sets of fans. This was a game that ideally, even though we lost, helped A&M when they’re looking at seeding and helped us as well since they are a good team.”
TCU Redshirt Sophomore AJ Alix
On her role as guard…
“It’s not all about me scoring. It’s about getting my teammates open and having them score. I trust all my teammates. Just score the ball whenever we can. It’s not about just me.”
QUICKIE NOTES
- Texas A&M starts 4-0 for the eighth time in the past nine years.
- Gary Blair is one win away from becoming the 16th Division I coach with 700 career wins. He is 699-282 in his career and 291-119 in 13 seasons at Texas A&M
- The Aggies are 125-4 against unranked teams at home since Feb. 23, 2005 and are 30-3 at home overall since the start of the 2013-14 season.
- Courtney Walker had 20+ points for the second straight game and 22nd time in her career
- Walker scored in double figures for the fifth straight game, dating back to last season, and the 78th time in her career
- Jordan Jones scored in double figures for the third straight game and 24th time in her career
- Jones had 5+ assists for the fourth straight game and the 54th time in her career
- Courtney Williams scored in double figures for the 14th straight game and 61st time in her career
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics