COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) Kayla Wells and Destiny Pitts each scored 15 points and No. 17 Texas A&M beat Little Rock 65-50 on Wednesday.
Coach Gary Blair tied Shelby Metcalf’s Aggie record of 438 victories at A&M. Metcalf coached the men’s basketball program at A&M from 1963-90, amassing a 438-306 record.
Aaliyah Patty had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Texas A&M (8-0), which hosts No. 15 Texas on Sunday. Wells, making her 100th-consecutive start, was 5-of-9 from the field and the Aggies shot 46.2%.
Texas A&M closed the first half on an 8-0 run to build a 21-point lead as Little Rock went scoreless for the final five minutes. The Trojans got within 12 after three quarters, 49-37, as the Aggies were held to nine points. However, Texas A&M would maintain its lead and come out victorious, 65-50.
Raziya Potter scored 23 points to lead Little Rock (4-4), which was seeking its first victory in Bryan-College Station. Sali Kourouma added 15 points. The Trojans were 2-of-16 from distance and shot 33.9% overall.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M improves to 8-0 to start the season for the second-consecutive year, and the fourth time in Gary Blair’s legendary A&M career.
The Maroon & White are on a 24-game win streak against regular season non-conference opponents, a record dating back to Dec. 1, 2019, the longest non-conference winning streak in program history.
The Aggies are now 12-2 versus Little Rock all-time.
TEAM NOTES
For the fourth time this season, Texas A&M held its opponent to 50-or-less points during a game.
The Aggies recorded more assists than the Trojans, registering 16 to Little Rock’s 11. This is the sixth time this season that Texas A&M has dished more assists than its opponents.
Texas A&M made eight triples at a 47.1% clip while Little Rock went 2-of-16 (12.5%) from deep. The Aggies have made eight-or-more 3-pointers in six games this year.
The Maroon & White has maintained a double-digit lead in every game this season.
Texas A&M outscored Little Rock’s bench, 25-3. The Aggies are 5-0 when outscoring an opponent’s bench.
Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Jordan Nixon, Qadashah Hoppie, Kayla Wells, Aaliyah Patty and Sydnee Roby for the first time this season (1-0).
For the third time this season, the Aggies held an opponent to less than 20 points in the first half, only allowing the Trojans to score 19.
This is the eighteenth most-attended game in the NCAA this season, with 6,414 fans crowding Reed Arena.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Kayla Wells has now played in 133 games for the Aggies, which is 11 games from breaking Karla Gilbert’s program record of 143. Wells also made her 100th-consecutive start for the Maroon & White.
Destiny Pitts led the Aggies, matching her season high in points with 15 and setting a new season high for made 3-pointers with five.
Wells had 15 points and has scored in double-digits in every game this year. She has now scored 10-or-more points in 73 games throughout her career.
Aaliyah Patty recorded the team’s first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and setting a season high in rebounds (10).
Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Fame head coach Gary Blair climbs to 846-333 overall with a 48–170 record since arriving in Aggieland in 2003-04.
Blair tied men’s basketball coaching legend Shelby Metcalf for the most basketball victories at Texas A&M, notching the 438th victory during his Aggie tenure.
Blair is now 12-1 versus Little Rock head coach Joe Foley.
Postgame Quote
Head coach Gary Blair
On the challenge of Sunday’s matchup…
“It’s simple, the challenge Sunday is all about a rivalry. Whether we’re playing them in ping pong or ice hockey, it’s Texas and A&M, that should say enough. We earned our 8-0 start. We used to beg people to come to our games, now I want people to come because we earned it, the sustainability and how good our men’s team is playing too. People need to come out and support basketball at every level now in this community. Watching on television is good but we need butts in seats. There should be 10-12,000 people at the Texas game. This is a no excuse game for the fans because this basketball team has earned it. We’ve earned it. Now it’s time to come out and we’re going to need every one of you on Sunday.”
Senior forward Aaliyah Patty
On the importance of rebounding….
“It is very important. It gets us in the flow of things and in rhythm with the offense. I was just trying to contribute in any way possible for my team. The offense kind of came with the rebounds I got, get a rebound, go down and score, they kind of go hand in hand.”
Graduate guard Kayla Wells
On the second and third quarters…
“Going into the second half, we kind of wanted to stretch the lead a little bit. We talked about that, and we talked about ‘stop, score, stop’. I feel like we did that in the second quarter. In the third quarter, we came out a little flat which is something we’re not used to, our second halves have been the best, but it wasn’t the best today and we need to do better.”