The No. 14 Texas A&M women’s basketball team welcomed the Auburn Tigers to Reed Arena on Sunday. A&M won the battle 78-59 to improve to 18-6 (7-3 SEC) as Auburn falls to 11-11 (2-8 SEC) with the loss. This was the second time these two teams have met, with A&M completing the sweep after taking the first game at Auburn 82-73.
“Our kids were really ready to play,” head coach Gary Blair said. “I think a lot of it stemmed from how well our men played yesterday and we talked about how they shared the ball and we really shared the ball well in the second half. Chennedy [Carter] and Danni [Williams] are really starting to work well together. There aren’t many people in any league who have as good as a mix of those two in the backcourt.”
After Auburn hit a three to open the game, the Aggies regained the lead and never looked back, storming out to a 43-25 halftime lead. The 18-point lead was mostly thanks to a 21-10 second quarter in which the Aggies dominated the Tigers.
Carter had 14 points at the half to lead the Aggies, while junior guard Danni Williams followed her with nine points while adding five assists in the first half.
The second half was more of the same as the Aggies continued to increase their lead. A&M outscored Auburn 23-14 in the third quarter before being outscored by the Tigers 20-12 in the fourth. Williams led the Aggies with 11 points in the second half.
A&M was led by Carter, Williams, and junior forward Anriel Howard. Carter scored 23 points and had 6 assists, while Williams tallied 20 points and 6 assists, and Howard added nine points and 10 rebounds. With her 20 points, Williams has now scored over 1000 points in her career at A&M.
“It feels really good,” Williams said about the milestone. “I’m thankful for my teammates who pass me the ball, and it feels really nice to get over [1000 points]. It’s like a dream come true, getting to play basketball here every single day.”
Auburn was led by junior guard Janiah McKay, freshman forward Abigayle Jackson, and junior guard Emari Jones. McKay scored a team-high 16 points with five assists, Jackson had 13 points and four rebounds, and Jones had nine points and two rebounds.
The Aggies will be back in action on Thursday as they host Ole Miss at Reed Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the matchup will be televised on the SEC Network.