The Texas A&M women’s basketball team had its first true test of the season last night. On the road game against No. 14 Duke, the No. 12 Aggies kept their perfect season alive with a 72-66 overtime victory.
Senior guard Courtney Walker led all scorers for the Aggies with 22 points, while senior forward Courtney Williams and senior guard Jordan Jones also finished in double figures with 12 and 14 points, respectively. Walker shot 50 percent from the field and posted a season-high in points, posting double figures in her fourth straight game dating back to last season.
Walker also posted a career high in rebounds, pulling down 11 boards — including four offensive rebounds in her first double-double of the season. The Aggies received important contribution from the bench, which notched 18 points compared to Duke’s 11, and all came from guard Angela Salvadores.
Duke (2-1) held a five-point lead off its highest scoring quarter of the night, posting 21 points in the first 12 minutes. The Aggies then quickly put out the hot Blue Devil offense in the second quarter, holding them to nine and taking a one-point advantage going into halftime.
The Blue Devils came out in the second half with the same intensity as they did in the first, but the Aggies came out stronger and put up a 21-point quarter of their own. The Aggies struggled shooting from the field in the final minutes and Duke took advantage posting a 7-0 run to begin the fourth quarter and outscoring A&M 16-11 to eventually force overtime.
In overtime, the Aggies (3-0) locked up defensively and held Duke to just three points to secure the victory, feeding off Walker and Williams, who scored eight of their nine overtime points.
The Aggies pulled down 20 offensive rebounds — nearly twice as much as Duke — to create more second chance opportunities and force the Blue Devils to play solid defense for many extra possessions. A&M also capitalized off 20 Duke turnovers, which included 10 steals.
This Saturday, A&M faces TCU at Reed Arena for the final game before traveling to Las Vegas for the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout.
