The Texas A&M’s women’s basketball team rolled past the Minnesota Golden Gophers 73-42 Tuesday, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season.
Senior Danielle Gant posted a team-high 20 points, leading the Aggies to the blowout victory.
“She gets out on the break from the post position, because she can anticipate steals and she starts her engine just a little bit quicker than a lot of our kids and we find her,” Blair said. “When she’s playing at the four position, there are not too many four players that can run with her. Gosh, she’s unselfish and is just a great kid. She’s going to make somebody a good player at the next level.”
Three other Aggies joined Gant with double-digit points. Senior Takia Starks scored 17 and junior Tanisha Smith and sophomore Sydney Colson each added 13.
“I have those three who know when to share the spotlight,” Blair said. “They know when it is their time and they are going to get their shots. They never overshoot. When you have ‘Three Amigos’ like that you can do a whole lot. I also had the luxury of having two very, very good point guards tonight.”
The Golden Gophers turned the ball over a season-high 32 times against A&M’s pressure defense, leading to 34 points for the Aggies. Colson led the A&M squad with six steals and freshman Sydney Carter recorded a career-high four.
“Minnesota had to extend a lot of their energy to beat Notre Dame which I think had a lot to do with their play tonight,” Blair said. “We were able to run the ball and keep it in transition.”
Minnesota’s offense was held to 35 percent shooting and 26.3 percent in the second half. The Aggies shut down the perimeter as well, keeping the Golden Gophers 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
“Threes can beat us a lot more than twos,” Gant said. “Coach Blair and Coach Schaefer wanted us to get up and deny the wings, so they couldn’t get a lot of 3-point shots off.”
Texas A&M started off strong and jumped out to an early 21-9 lead that set the tone for the game. In the first half, A&M shot 56.7 percent from the floor. The Aggies continued to dominate and took a 39-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Minnesota’s desperation and poor shooting in the second half kept their comeback hopes at bay. Leading Gopher scorer Emily Fox was held to only four points and was zero-for-11 shooting field goals.
Texas A&M advances to the third round of the NCAA tournament and will head to Trenton, N.J., for the East Regional. Awaiting the Aggies is sixth-seeded Arizona State. The Sun Devils are coming off a 63-58 victory over Florida State in the second round.