The Texas A&M women’s basketball team got off to a quick start on Monday to etch an 80-62 win over Southeastern Conference opponent Florida at the Exactech Arena in Gainesville.
The Aggies went on a 20-9 scoring run in the first quarter to take a permanent lead over the Gators (6-21, 2-12 SEC), with sophomore center Ciera Johnson and sophomore guard Kayla Wells adding six points each. With the win, A&M moves to 21-6 on the season and 10-4 in SEC play.
Johnson earned a double-double, accumulating 21 points and 10 rebounds. Two other Aggies notched double-digit points, with Wells leading the way for A&M with 24 and sophomore guard Chennedy Carter adding 21.
Senior guard Funda Nakkasoglu was Florida’s leading scorer with 22 points. Sophomore guard Danielle Rainey followed with 17.
A&M also had success on the defensive side, allowing Florida to shoot only 17.6 percent in the first quarter and a game average of 34.4. Florida’s only first quarter points came from a trio of three-pointers — one the Gators’ strong points — making up 63 percent of their scores compared to A&M’s 23 percent.
The Aggies outscored Florida 16-8 in the second quarter to take a 36-17 lead into halftime.
The Gators found more offensive success in the third quarter, shooting a game-high 68.8 percent, though they were unable to close in on A&M’s lead. Florida did manage to come within 12 points of the Aggies — the lowest scoring gap since the end of the first quarter.
A&M opened the fourth quarter on a 8-0 scoring run to seal the 80-62 win over Florida and extend their winning streak to two.
A&M will next take the court on Thursday against No. 16 Kentucky (23-5, 10-4 SEC), who is on a six-game win streak after a 57-52 win over Louisiana State University on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington.