The No. 10 Texas A&M women’s basketball team rolled to their ninth-consecutive victory as the Ole Miss Rebels visited Reed Arena on Monday night. In their SEC home opener, the Aggies (14-1) recorded their largest margin of victory over the Rebels in their 79-35 second conference win.
After the game, A&M coach Gary Blair said the steady momentum from the entire team throughout all four quarters was a big factor and something they hope to carry along SEC play.
“We shared the basketball, we had 22 assists, that was the difference,” Blair told 12thman.com. “Everything that we were running was working. …As long as you’re into the flow of the offense, and you have the confidence level that a senior has, let it fly!”
The Aggies were off to a strong start in the opening quarter, building to a 21-10 advantage behind junior forward Ciera Johnson and senior guard Shambria Washington’s combined 17 points. Ole Miss’ 10 points in the first quarter were the most the Aggies allowed through each quarter in Monday’s matchup.
After finishing the game with three rebounds and 12 points, Washington said she is willing to help the team in any way she can and is taking full advantage of her chances.
“I did whatever my team needed me to do,” Washington told 12thman.com. “Usually I’m a facilitator but tonight they needed me to shoot my open shots and I did…Kudos to my teammates for finding me and getting me in a grove early.”
Johnson led the Aggies with 17 points as junior guard Chennedy Carter tallied 13 points and eight assists. Blair said that Carter managed to still be key for the Aggies while not being their side’s leading scorer.
“She doesn’t need to score 28,” Blair told 12thman.com. “She’s just as happy passing the ball, and that’s what All-Americans do. They find other people in their offense. …They work very well together when they’re on the same page.”
Even based off the Aggies’ dominating performance against the Rebels, Johnson said they should not take their next opponent, the LSU Tigers, so lightly.
“We won’t ever overlook LSU,” Johnson told 12thman.com. “We match up very well with LSU…Every time we play them here or away, it’s going to be a dogfight, and that’s exactly what it’s going to be Thursday night, a dogfight.”
The Aggies will take on LSU at Reed Arena at 8 p.m. on Jan. 9. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.