COLLEGE STATION – The No. 6 Texas A&M women’s basketball team posted a convincing 79-57 win over Duke behind a 20-rebound advantage Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
The Aggies led for over 37 of the 40 minutes as they improved to 6-1 all-time against the Blue Devils. A&M’s Chennedy Carter (25), Ciera Johnson (14), Kayla Wells (13) and Shambria Washington (10) finished in double-figure scoring. Johnson (12) and N’dea Jones (12) finished with double-digit rebounding while Cheah Rael-Whitsitt grabbed nine boards.
The Aggies opened the game slow from the field, but were able to corral half of their missed shots leading to a pair of second chance points and an 8-5 advantage through the first five minutes of action. A&M upped the pressure to finish the first quarter, forcing seven turnovers that led to 10 points and an 18-12 lead.
The Blue Devils carved into the deficit early in the second quarter, taking a 28-27 lead with just over four minutes until half. Johnson ended the run with a layup as the Aggies closed out the half scoring six of the last eight points to take a 33-30 advantage into the break.
Carter led all scorers at the half, with 17 points, marking her 41st consecutive game with double-digit scoring. Rael-Whitsitt evened her career-high in rebounding, seven, over the first 20 minutes of action. Through the first 20 minutes, the Aggies outrebounded the Blue Devils by 10 and tallied seven second-chance points while Duke was unable to take advantage of their five offensive rebounds.
The Maroon & White stormed out the locker room after the break, taking a then game-high 14-point advantage with 2:40 to play in the third quarter. Jones, the SEC’s leading returning rebounder, controlled the boards in the third frame, pulling down five to push her into doubles figures for the 23rd time in her career.
A&M continued to stretch the lead in the fourth quarter using a 9-1 run to take a 75-52 advantage as they held Duke without a field goal for over four minutes.
Postgame Notes
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies improved to 2-0 this season and 6-1 all-time against the Blue Devils.
- Texas A&M shot 50% from field (33-66) and nearly doubled Duke in rebounding (47-24) on the night.
- A&M took advantage of 19 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points, Duke converted nine offensive boards to just four points.
- The Aggies registered 16 assists on 33 made field goals.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Chennedy Carter, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the second straight game (2-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior Chennedy Carter poured in 25 points in 36 minutes of action, the NCAA’s leader in career scoring average added four rebounds and three steals in the win. The 25 point effort marked the 48th time the Masfield, Texas native has scored 20 points in a game.
- Junior Ciera Johnson added her second-straight double-double to open the season, posting 14 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson posted her team-best 13th double-double in 23 minutes of action.
- Senior Shambria Washington posted a game-high nine assists on the night matching her career mark, the 12th time she has dished out five-or-more helpers at Texas A&M. Washington’s nine dimes equaled Duke’s team total on the night.
- Junior N’dea Jones pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, marking the 23rd time in her career she had registered double digit rebounding.
- Junior Cheah Rael-Whitsitt matched her career-high in rebounding, seven, at halftime as the Ann Arbor, Mich. native finished with nine boards in just 21 minutes on the floor. Of her nine rebounds, four were on the offensive end.
- Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair improved to 385-159 in Aggieland, the Hall of Famer improved to 793-322 in his career.
UP NEXT
The Aggies are off for the next six days before they travel to Houston to take on Rice on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. The game will air on ESPN Plus.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics