No. 6 Texas A&M had several players notch double-digit points and rebounds as the Aggies defeated Duke 79-57 on Sunday.
The Aggies led early on and only allowed Duke to lead for only three minutes of game time, mostly in the first half. A&M, led by junior guard Chennedy Carter, scored 46 points in the second half for the win.
Carter scored 25 points in the matchup and is currently the NCAA’s leader in career scoring average. This was her 48th game scoring 20 or more points as an Aggie.
A&M coach Gary Blair said Carter’s versatility makes it difficult for opponents to defend her in man coverage.
“She sets up so many things,” Blair said. “That’s why we didn’t see them switch to man [coverage] because they knew they had no one that could guard her man-to-man. USA had some problems guarding her man-for-man as well.”
Three other Aggies finished in double-digit scoring as junior center Ciera Johnson, junior guard Kayla Wells, and senior guard Shambria Washington added 14, 13, and 10 points respectively. It was also Johnson’s second double-double of the season in as many games.
Washington said it was a team goal for the Aggies to distribute the scoring the way they did.
“At the beginning of every game Coach Blair has keys on what it takes to win which are basically our goals,” Washington said. “One of our goals was to get four out of five [starters] in double-digit scoring, and it just so happened to work out that way.”
Junior forward N’dea Jones said rebounding was another focus in the matchup.
“I think me and my team have that mindset of going to get the ball so we can get a second opportunity at scoring,” Jones said. “We have that mentality in practice.”
It was in the second half that A&M took over the game, as the Aggies went on several scoring runs to extend their lead over Duke. During the third quarter A&M truly pulled ahead of Duke, with the Aggies taking a 14-point lead at the 2:40 mark. During the fourth quarter, A&M went on a 9-1 run that resulted in their eventual victory.
A&M will travel to Houston on Sunday to take on the Rice Owls. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.