COLLEGE STATION – The No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies dominated the Ole Miss Rebels en-route to a 79-35 win in their first home SEC matchup of the year at Reed Arena. Junior forward Ciera Johnson led the way with 17 points.
The Aggies got off to a great start, as they used an 11-0 run to take a 21-10 lead by the end first quarter. In the second quarter, a balanced offensive attack allowed them to extend their lead even further, as they took a 37-19 advantage into the break. Senior guard Shambria Washington surpassed her previous season high with 12 points in the first half, while Johnson added 11 points.
From then on the Aggies’ lead continued to grow, which culminated in an 18-0 run that began at the 5:46 mark in the third quarter, and ended at the 2:31 mark of the fourth quarter. The Aggies notched their largest lead of the game, going up by 50 points in the final period. Their 44-point victory over the Rebels matched their second largest margin of victory over an SEC team since entering the league in the 2012-2013 season.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M held Ole Miss to 35 points, matching a season-low for points allowed in a game.
- The Aggies held the Rebels to a season-low 27.5% shooting performance from the field. This was the fourth time this year that they have held an opponent to below 30% shooting.
- The Aggies out-rebounded the Rebels 44-23. Ole Miss’ 23 rebounds was the fewest a team has had all year against Texas A&M.
- Texas A&M never shot less than 50% from the field in any quarter.
- The Aggies never trailed in the game, and limited Ole Miss to single-digit scoring in three of four quarters.
- Texas A&M used a starting lineup of Chennedy Carter, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the 15th time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior forward Ciera Johnson led the Aggies with 17 points, matching her second highest point total of the year.
- Junior guard Chennedy Carter notched 13 points to extended her double-figure scoring streak to 54 games. She has scored in double-figures in 79 of her 80 career games.
- Carter finished the game with eight assists, which is the fifth time she has recorded six-or-more in a game this season.
- Junior forward N’dea Jones recorded her third straight double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
- Jones also stole the ball a career-high six times.
- Senior guard Shambria Washington made a season-high 12 points and five field goals.
- Junior guard Aaliyah Wilson contributed 10 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the third time this season.
- Head coach Gary Blair earned his 805th career victory.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will host LSU at Reed Arena on Thursday, Jan. 9th at 8 p.m. on SEC Network. Tickets available here.
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement …
“Great defense tonight. Great defense. The last three quarters we held them to single digits. I was able to rotate all 11 kids in, and they did an excellent job. We shared the basketball, we had 22 assists, that was the difference. Everything that we were running was working. How many times can you go into the half with Chennedy [Carter] shooting 1-9 and Kayla [Wells] going 1-2? There were times where Shambria [Washington] was left wide open. As long as you’re into the flow of the offense, and you have the confidence level that a senior has, let it fly! It helped her confidence as well as the rest of the team, because that might open up our post players more when we’re playing other teams, because they’re going to have to guard Shambria [Washington] a little bit better than they did tonight.”
On the defensive preparation for tonight’s win…
“Coach [Bob] Starkey did a great job preparing us. The practice we had on Saturday, it looked like we were 1-13. That’s how hard the defense responded, because we showed up tonight. Our workout on the defensive end was outstanding on Saturday after a day off from Arkansas. Ole Miss is a lot better than they played tonight, but we played pretty doggone good.”
On the recipe for success against LSU…
“We need to change the way we play LSU. Remember, we were down at the half last year to [LSU] here. We were down after three quarters to Ole Miss at their place a while back. Sometimes the button just doesn’t come on all the time. It didn’t come on for the Houston Texans in football the other night, but when it came on they found a way. When you have a veteran team like we have, they can handle accountability and responsibility. That’s the best thing we’ve done all year; when we have adversity or we’re having a bad shooting night, we find a way to get it done.”
On Chennedy Carter’s performance in tonight’s game…
“I was just as proud of Chennedy Carter for what she did running the show today with eight assists. She doesn’t need to score 28. She’s just as happy passing the ball, and that’s what All-Americans do. They find other people in their offense, and she works extremely well with Ciera [Johnson] under the basket. They just have that knack of working together. That’s Kellen Mond and [Jhamon] Ausbon. They work very well together too, when they’re on the same page.”
Senior Guard Shambria Washington
On the defensive effort in tonight’s game…
“I think we were locked in. We played out of our stance the majority of the night; we were in our gaps, we communicated, we called the switch, we talked early, loud and often, and I think we were in our spots before we needed to be there. We gave effort; N’dea Jones did a great job on sparking us at the beginning of the game.”
On her confidence shooting the ball in tonight’s contest…
“I just do whatever my team needs me to do. I usually facilitate more, but tonight they left me open, so I shot the ball a little more. I just had the confidence to knock it down and my teammates found me in a groove, and I got off to a great start early.”
Junior Center Ciera Johnson
On the not overlooking LSU…
“We won’t ever overlook LSU. They are a team that we see on our schedule and be like ‘we have to be ready to play.’ We match up very well with LSU. LSU is never a team we overlook, because every time we play them here or away, it’s going to be a dogfight, and that’s exactly what it’s going to be Thursday night, a dogfight.”
On Thursday’s matchup against LSU…
“The key, number one, most important thing, is to win. But we have to get back on defense, that’s number one. We have to be able to stop them in their zone. We have to make sure we execute on offense and take care of the ball.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics