The No. 12 Texas A&M women’s basketball team entered Sunday’s game against Auburn on a two-game losing streak, but the Aggies took care of business behind 23 points from junior Courtney Williams, beating the Tigers 78-45 at Reed Arena.
After following up a road loss to No. 22 Georgia with a 79-61 loss to No. 1 South Carolina, the Aggies returned to their winning ways.
“They had to be hungry for this game,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair after the game. “We needed this game.”
The Aggies started the game on a 17-4 run, holding Auburn (9-13, 0-9 SEC) scoreless for five minutes. The run was sparked by good shooting from Williams as well as superb rebounding from senior Achiri Ade. From there, the Aggies never looked back.
A&M’s lead was cut to five in the first half, but an 18-2 run brought the lead back to 22. The run was capped by a Williams 3-pointer at the buzzer to signal the end of the first half. Again, the Aggie defense held the Tigers scoreless for another five-plus minute stretch, which helped the Aggies take a 39-17 lead into half time.
The second half was much of the same as the Aggie lead was stretched to as many as 35 points, thanks in part to scoring from Williams and Courtney Walker.
The Aggies were strong on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game. Auburn was held to 34 percent shooting from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, resulting in 25 A&M points.
“[Associate head coach Kelly Bond-White] did a great job of preparing our team for this game,” Blair said. “This was her scout. She had it down pat. A lot of times it isn’t the head coach; it’s preparation by the assistant coaches. They get the work done, but sometime they’re never given the credit they deserve.”
Williams scored 23 points with five rebounds, while Walker added 13 points and seven rebounds.
“I think it was a great way to get back on track after two losses,” Williams said. “The last two games were not good because we didn’t execute. This game, I think we really executed.”
Jordan Jones had 10 assists in the game, which moved her into fifth on the all-time Aggie career assists list.
The Aggies dominated in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 40-18 inside and out-rebounded them 35-22.
The win moves the Aggies to 17-5 overall, 5-3 in SEC play. The Aggie women will travel to Columbia to take on Missouri Thursday.