The No. 12 Texas A&M women’s basketball team dropped its matchup Monday night with No. 1 University of South Carolina 79-61 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
The loss marks two consecutive defeats for A&M and moves them to 5-5 in its last 10 games.
The Aggies (16-5, 4-3) and the Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0) commenced their nationally televised Monday night showdown exchanging buckets for most of the first half in which there were nine lead changes and four ties through the first 14 minutes of play. Senior forward Achiri Ade led the charge for the Aggies with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting along with four rebounds and one block in the first half.
However, a 14-0 run by South Carolina spanning from the 7:40 to the 2:46 mark was enough to give them a 39-31 lead heading into the break.
The lead would prove to be insurmountable for Texas A&M in the second half despite four players scoring in double figures, led by Ade’s 15. South Carolina, one of the nation’s two remaining unbeatens, routinely spaced the A&M defense, accumulating several layups and taking advantage of 30 free throw attempts to put the Aggies away. Freshman forward A’ja Wilson and junior guard Tiffany Mitchell led South Carolina with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Wilson added nine rebounds.
The Aggies return to College Station briefly Sunday to continue SEC action against Auburn University prior to hitting the road for their next two conference games against Missouri Feb. 5 followed by Mississippi State Feb. 8.