Sunday was an emotional game for some of the A&M women’s basketball players, as seniors Chelsea Jennings, Rachel Mitchell, Courtney Walker, Courtney Williams and Jordan Jones played their last game at Reed Arena on Senior Day against No. 15 Kentucky. The Aggies would come up short by a final score of 71-58 to end their regular season.
Jones said the day was a difficult one for her and the team, but the emotion cleared once the game tipped off.
“Most of the seniors were very emotional as well as the underclassmen,” Jones said. “We’re a very close ball club and we love each other dearly but once the ref threw the ball up it was strictly about basketball.”
Courtney Walker led all A&M scorers, putting up 16 points while Courtney Williams and Chelsea Jennings had 13 and 10, respectively. This came in a game where points were difficult to come by, with A&M shooting less than 36 percent from the field. The Aggies also struggled mightily on the boards, losing the battle on the glass 57-32 and giving up a plethora of offensive boards.
Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said that getting an edge on the glass was a key factor for his team.
“We wanted to get more offensive rebounds because we think that speaks to hustle,” Mitchell said. “I thought we finished possessions and we were particularly good on the defensive glass, but I was really proud of the offensive glass.”
Defense was the story early on as the Aggies only allowed one point through the first five minutes and held their own in the paint on both sides of the ball, jumping out to a 10-1 lead, including six early points from Courtney Walker.
However, the Aggies suddenly got cold after an early timeout and Kentucky took advantage, making it a one-point game at the end of one quarter, and a back-and-forth second period made it a two point game at the end of one quarter. A back-and-forth second period made it a two-point game at the end of the first half.
Blair said the first-half struggles after getting a 10-1 lead came from shot selection.
“After we got the lead we started to play a little bit of eyeball,” Blair said. “Not good shots. Shot selection was bad for about five or six minutes and that allowed them to get back in the game and regroup.”
A&M’s scoring woes continued in the second half, as they could not recover from shooting a mere 23 percent from the field in the third quarter. Kentucky then began to find their shooting rhythm and outworked A&M on the offensive glass, effectively eliminating many second-chance opportunities.  
Next up for the Aggies is the SEC tournament in Jacksonville, where they will enter as the No. 2 seed. They will play their first game on Friday, at 5 p.m. against the winner of the Tennessee-Arkansas game.