In its final tune-up of the season before conference play, the No. 16 Texas A&M women’s basketball team breezed by Prairie View A&M 88-30 on Tuesday afternoon in Reed Arena.
Sophomore Khaalia Hillsman led the Aggies with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and freshman Anriel Howard came off the bench and poured in a career-high 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Aggies (10-3) imposed a stifling defense that held the Panthers (4-5) to a meager 10 first-half points and allowed them to shoot only 22.6% from the floor for the game.
“We’re going to take the game,” head coach Gary Blair said in his postgame press conference. “I’m sure Prairie View has played a lot better games besides tonight but our defense was pretty good.”
The 88 points that the Aggies scored matched their highest scoring total of the season, while the 30 points that they allowed were the fewest by an A&M opponent. The 58-point margin of victory marks the seventh-largest in Gary Blair’s tenure in Aggieland.
Howard said after the game that even though the Aggies dominated an inferior opponent, they will still benefit from the contest.
“It’s certain things we know we have to do,” she said. “Even though we know we come in knowing we’re supposed to beat the team, there’s certain things we know we have to execute as well. We have goals and I believe we met those goals, exceeded those goals, both on defense and offense.”
Senior Courtney Williams filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, but it was her unselfish play that caught the attention of the team.
“I thought it was a very unselfish game, particularly for Courtney Williams,” Blair said. “She was distributing the ball, she wasn’t worried about how many points she scored but when she turned it on. She only had 2 at half, came on and hit a couple 3-pointers, and played well.”
Hillsman did not take much credit for her solid game, but instead complimented her teammates.
“It was the passes to be perfectly honest. I wasn’t doing anything by myself,” she said. “It was just great passes from people willing to share the ball and I think [Courtney Williams] and everybody who came passing the ball, they threw some really good passes so I give it up to them because anybody could make the shots that I made.”
The Aggies received a scare in at the end of the first quarter when senior point guard Jordan Jones was fouled hard on a layup and remained on the floor. She had to be helped off the court by the trainers and did not return the game.
Jones tore her ACL at the end of last season, and she will be listed as day-to-day moving forward.
The Aggies finish off their brutal nonconference slate with a 10-3 record, and with those games behind them, they are ready to compete in the SEC.
“I’m excited [to start conference play],” Hillsman said. “There’s no more winning by 50, there’s no more of that because everybody in our league is good. You have to prepare for everybody. Even teams from last year, the ones that we blew out, they’re better this year. It’s exciting to know you’re in the best conference in the nation and every game is going to be a big one.”
The Aggies play their conference opener on Sunday, January 3, at home against Georgia. Opening tip is scheduled for 4:00 and will be televised on SEC Network.