No. 12 Texas A&M women’s basketball team heads back to College Station to host the SMU Mustangs Monday at Reed Arena after a two-game trip to Hawaii.
The Aggies (5-2) are returning to the states after playing two games in the Tom Weston Classic against the University of Hawai’i and BYU.
On Friday the Aggies coasted by the University of Hawai’i, defeating the Rainbow Warriors 82-41. The Aggies came out strong to secure a 24-point lead by halftime, with the Aggie defense playing a strong role in the win. A&M scored 34 points off turnovers, and at one point, A&M held the Rainbow Warrior offense to only 2 points in what was a 22-2 run to end the first half.
Saturday the Aggies suffered their second loss of the season, falling to BYU 70-62.
Despite the loss to BYU, several Aggies had elite showings at the Weston Classic, including senior guard Chelsea Jennings, who led the Aggies with 15 points and was given All-Tournament honors for averaging 10.5 points per game. This marks the second time this season that Jennings had a double figure-game. Senior guard Courtney Walker joined Jennings in hitting double digits in the loss, marking the 81st time in her career to reach that mark, along with nine consecutive 10-plus point outings.
SMU (3-4) comes to Aggieland Monday, marking the first time the Mustangs have left the Dallas-Fort Worth area this season. They come in looking to bounce back from a 49-43 loss to the UNM Lobos on Saturday night. Sophomore Alicia Froling, who leads the team with 13.9 points per contest, had a career-high 16 rebounds in the loss to the Lobos.
The Aggies won the match-up last year 72-70, when they faced the Mustangs in Dallas, with then-junior guard Courtney Williams leading the charge for the Aggies with 21 points in the game.
The 11 a.m. tipoff time is due to the Aggies hosting the SMU Mustangs for third annual Elementary School Day, where as many as 4,000 students from the Brazos Valley area schools attend the game on a field trip. The Aggies are a perfect 2-0 when hosting Elementary Day. Monday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network.