A dominant second half from the No. 16 Texas A&M women’s basketball team fueled the Aggies to a 64-47 road victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. A&M shook off a slow start in the first half and outscored Georgia 41-23 in the second half to pull away from the Bulldogs.
The Aggies found success with their frontcourt duo of junior forward N’dea Jones and junior center Ciera Johnson, who combined for 29 points and 25 rebounds. Johnson led the Aggies’ second half surge as she scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the last two quarters. Jones had her 15th double-double of the season after a performance of 13 points and 20 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds.
It was a special night for Jones who had a group of family and friends in the crowd as the game was played less than an hour away from her hometown of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
“This is a really important game to me because I get to see all my friends and family that I don’t get to see much during the season,” Jones told the SEC Network after the game. “I just wanted to go out there and do well for them.”
A Jones layup with 9:15 left in the fourth quarter kicked off an 18-2 scoring run that sealed the victory for the Aggies.
The Aggies’ defense was also on display Thursday night as it was able to stifle Georgia’s offense and force numerous turnovers for the Aggies. The Aggies held Georgia to a 37.7 percent shooting night, which is the 15th time that A&M has held their opponents under 40 percent shooting this season.
The Aggies also tied a season high in steals with 13 (nine of which came in the second half), and the team was able to convert Georgia turnovers into 29 points. Senior guard Shambria Washington and junior guard Aaliyah Wilson both led the team with four steals each.
Junior guard Kayla Wells had the hot hand from beyond the arc, going 3-of-4 from behind the arc in a 15-point effort. The recent return from an ankle injury has not slowed down junior guard Chennedy Carter as she scored 12 points in what was her 58th straight game of scoring at least 10 points.
Early foul-trouble by Carter and Johnson had them missing most of the first half, which helped Georgia stick around with the Aggies early on. The Aggies made adjustments in the locker room at halftime as they played a smarter and more efficient half of basketball that included getting to the free throw line 15 times and protecting possession of the ball to only five turnovers.
The win extends A&M’s win streak to three games, and comes at a crucial time in the season when they are fighting for the third spot in the SEC rankings, but A&M is also playing for a top-4 seed in the NCAA tournament that would have them playing their second and third round games at home.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Sunday when they host Auburn for Senior Day at 3 p.m.