Sophomore guards Chennedy Carter and Kayla Wells combined for more than half of the game points in the No. 21 Texas A&M women’s basketball 79-62 victory over Tennessee on Thursday in Reed Arena.
Carter went for 28 points, earning her the record for the most double-digit performances in A&M history with 33 straight games. Wells also had a memorable night with a career-high of 29 points, while going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
A&M now moves to a 20-6 overall record and 9-4 in SEC play. As for Tennessee, it falls to a 17-9 overall season record and is now 6-7 in conference play.
The Aggies exploded offensively scoring the most points in any half with 27 in the third quarter alone and giving them a 20-point scoring gap. Carter missed only one field goal in the third and finished the quarter with 20 points, as Wells continued her strong offensive performance going 5-of-5 from the field, including another shot from beyond the arc.
Wells said she attributed her success to shooting early and taking open shots when the defense gave her opportunities.
“It all started early, usually I don’t come out the gate shooting,” Wells said. “I did because I felt it, especially in warm-ups. This week I put up a lot of shots. I was confident and just kept shooting, which gradually kept going.”
The first quarter showed a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams. A&M, offensively, slowed the game down and worked its offense through Carter. Sophomore center Ciera Johnson’s eight rebounds provided many second chance opportunities for the Aggies, while the Volunteers earned the majority of their points from fast breaks. However, the end of the first quarter had A&M leading 17-16.
In the second quarter, Wells became dominate from beyond the arc, knocking down a career-high 4-of-6 from the three-point line. Wells would go into the half with 16 points. Carter kept putting pressure the Volunteer defense to score 10 points.
Sophomore forward N’dea Jones continued to attack the boards with four rebounds of her own and completing the game with 10. The Volunteers continued to push the tempo, relying solely on transition offense for most of their points. The Aggies led by five going into the half 35-30.
A&M head coach Gary Blair said the Aggies were successful due to their rebound performance against Tennessee.
“I thought the key to the ball game was we stayed with them on the boards early,” Blair said. “That is hard to do with Tennessee. The hit their average on offensive rebounds, but our first shot defense was very good. Our guard play tonight was as good as it’s been since probably Oregon State.”
Carter kept the gas on the pedal, knocking down 4-of-6 field goals in the fourth quarter to give her 28 points on the night. The Volunteer’s sophomore guard Elvina Westbrook led the offense with 17 points and five assists.
The Aggies will travel to Florida on Monday, Feb. 25 to face the Florida Gators. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.