GUAYNABO, P.R. – In a game of scoring sprees, the No. 11 Texas A&M women’s basketball team was able to close out on its biggest run of the game to top Montana State, 78-67, Saturday afternoon at the Coqui Classic. Junior guard Chennedy Carter scored 17 points in the second half to lead the way with 27 in the game.
It was nearly the same start to A&M’s first game of the Coqui Classic, as the team took a quarter to get going. A pair of threes from Carter and another from junior guard Kayla Wells kept the difference in single digits, but the Aggies (12-1) trailed 19-12 after the first quarter.
A&M used a pair of runs in the second quarter to position itself for a halftime lead. The team scored seven straight points with under six minutes to play to tie things up at 26-all. Montana State (4-6) responded with five points of its own, but the Aggies closed the first half out on a 9-2 run to take a 35-33 lead into the break.
After trading the lead to start the third quarter, A&M used another 9-2 spree late in the period to go up 57-48 heading into the final 10 minutes. The Bobcats took the momentum back early in the fourth quarter as an 8-0 run got Montana State back within two and forced A&M to use a timeout before the midway point in the quarter.
Carter scored on three straight A&M possessions after the timeout and junior forward Ciera Johnson put in a layup with 3:12 to play. Junior guard Aaliyah Wilson kept things going as she buried a three the next time down the floor and A&M rallied for a 10-2 run in the final three minutes to earn the 11-point win.
TEAM NOTES
- A&M outscored Montana State 46-26 in the paint, as it took a 43-32 advantage in rebounding.
- Texas A&M used a starting lineup of Chennedy Carter, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the 13th time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior guard Chennedy Carter led the Aggies with 27 points, extending her double-figure scoring streak to 51 games and surpassing the 20-point mark for the fifth straight game, 10th time this season.
- Junior forward Ciera Johnson, who played a career-high 40 minutes for the second time, put up 12 of her 17 points in the second half as she recorded her 10th games of the season in double digits.
- Junior guard Kayla Wells put together two consistent halves to make it seven straight games scoring in double figures as she finished with 13 points.
- Junior guard Aaliyah Wilson has another solid performance as she added nine points, including a three late in the fourth quarter, five rebounds and four assists in the win.
- Head coach Gary Blair moves to 802-323 in his head coaching career, 394-160 in his 17 years at Texas A&M.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 29, as they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 3 p.m. at Reed Arena. Tickets can be purchased here.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics