The Texas A&M women’s basketball team goes for its fifth-straight win Saturday at Reed Arena when it hosts the Texas State Bobcats.
A&M has scored more than 70 points in its last three games and won its home opener Tuesday against the University of Texas-San Antonio 74-48 after starting the season with a tough loss to South Florida.
Last year, A&M defeated Texas State at Reed Arena, 92-48.
A&M Head Coach Gary Blair, who is in his second season, said A&M is focusing on A&M and not trying to get too involved with what the other team is doing.
While A&M has speed and athleticism on its side, it must learn to control the tempo of the game.
Texas State will have a hard time keeping up if A&M is able to run and shoot like it wants to.
Aggie junior forward Tamea Scales said on offense, the Aggies need to utilize their speed and get critical transition points. Freshman guard Ashley Bolden said that opportunities on offense and the team’s young depth are also strengths. Unfortunately, what A&M has in athleticism, it lacks in height.
A&M is a relatively short team, and Texas State can use that to its advantage.
In addition, the team can’t let Texas State control the tempo and play a half-court game. If Texas State can do what it wants, then it can feed the ball to senior forward Tori Talbert and make things difficult for A&M.
Texas State Coach Suzanne Fox said that if the Bobcats can handle A&M’s pressure, then they have an opportunity to be in the game at the end.
Blair and Scales said that there are holes in the defense that need to be fixed and said fans shouldn’t to be fooled by the score of Tuesday’s game. “Talking on defense is a major struggle right now,” Scales said.
Blair said some of this is due to the number of people he subs in the game.
One way for A&M to maintain control of the game is for its shooters to hit their shots early and pull Texas State defenders out to the perimeter.
Texas State Coach Suzanne Fox is in her eighth season with the Bobcats. Though she has won only two games against A&M, she said the key factor for Texas State is how it handles the pressure.
“If we can handle the pressure, that gives us an opportunity to be in the game at the end,” Fox said.
Senior guards Ashley Perkins and Ashley McGruder should prove helpful for Texas State, as well as Talbert.
Both Fox and Blair believe the Texas State players match up well with A&M’s athleticism.
Blair said that despite the team’s record, the Bobcats are not to be taken lightly. “They’re a senior ball club; they make good decisions,” he said.”You expect them to not be scared at all to come and play in a Big 12 place.”