After a lopsided loss to No. 11 West Virginia last Sunday t, the No. 21 A&M women’s basketball team (6-1) will attempt to get back on track as they host TCU (7-1) Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
The matchup will honor Maggie Dixon, the late sister of TCU men’s basketball head coach Jamie Dixon who died of a brain aneurysm. This is the third time the Aggies have been invited to play in the Maggie Dixon Classic, and the first time the Aggies will host it at Reed Arena.
“It’s an awareness thing, of how precious life is and how it can leave you so quick,” A&M head coach Gary Blair said. “Having it here gives us the opportunity to showcase Texas A&M and that’s why we’re playing the game.”
The game will be played in front of a large audience, as over 5,000 elementary school kids will be in attendance, and Blair hopes that the kids will feel an impact that’s bigger than basketball.
“We’re getting a chance to be role models for these kids, they’re going to go home to their parents and say ‘I want to be just like them’, ‘I want to go to college whether I play ball or not’,” Blair said. “I think that’s so important for people to be able to come to Texas A&M and have something to look forward to.”
TCU enters the game riding a three-game win streak, including a 88-67 victory over Alabama last game. Junior center Jordan Moore leads the Horned Frogs in points and rebounds on the season, averaging 16.3 and 6.1 respectively. Senior guard Toree Thompson has found immense success from behind the arc, shooting 48.3 percent of her three-pointers.
The Aggies come into the game after a 70-56 loss to West Virginia. One of the only bright spots for A&M was the play of freshman Chennedy Carter, who had 20 points. Carter currently leads all freshmen in the nation in points per game (19.0). The Aggies found their groove offensively late in the game, but uncharacteristic defensive mistakes prevented them from getting back in the game.
“That was not a good defensive performance against West Virginia. We’ve got to become more aware of who we’re playing, try to stop their strengths and accentuate our strengths,” Blair said.
Despite suffering the Aggies second home loss against a ranked opponent, Blair says that the tough schedule has been beneficial for the Aggies.
“It doesn’t get us any better playing cupcake University or something like that, we have to get better against the best competition,” Blair said. “To be the best you play the best, and learn from your mistakes if you lose.”
Junior forward Anriel Howard says the team has already put Sunday’s loss in the rear view mirror and will come ready to play against TCU.
“The page is turned, we lost we’re on to the next game, we’re definitely want to come out and dominate the next game,” Howard said.
The Aggies game against TCU will be televised on SEC Network.