Texas A&M women’s basketball will hit the road for the first time this season to play against Rice University in Houston on Sunday.
“A road game always tests focus; it always tests the strength of the team and the coaching staff in how well we stay together, but this will be good for us,” A&M junior Jasmine Williams said. “Rice is a really good team; they’re great competition for us.”
Last week, the Aggies came out on top against Duke University, 79-58.
A&M junior guard Chennedy Carter accounted for 25 of the Aggies’ points in 36 minutes of action during the matchup. Cater, an NCAA leader in career scoring average, added four rebounds and three steals for the Aggies.
“It was a fast-paced game,” Carter said. “We didn’t win by much, so I think closing that gap will make a big difference.”
A&M has six consecutive wins against Rice, ending last season’s matchup 65-54. Rice is 2-1 on the season so far, with the one loss coming at home.
“They have some great guards and some of them are on watchlists around the country,” Williams said. “But we’ve just been preparing like we’ve been preparing for everyone else — one game at a time, one play at a time.”
A&M is undefeated in the first two games of the season and has moved up to the fifth spot in the AP Top 25.
Though the team has had its success thus far, A&M head coach Gary Blair said he is looking for improvement.
“Sometimes you just have to give the other team credit for what they do well,” Blair said. “What we’ve gotta do is we have to guard the numbers instead of the player’s name.”
The Aggies will face Rice at the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston at 2 p.m. on Sunday.