After a three week hiatus from the AP top 25, the No. 24 Texas A&M women’s basketball team will face off against Auburn on Thursday in a crucial conference matchup.
The 15-3 Tigers have been a tough team on the road lately, with wins against Florida, Alabama and Vanderbilt. However, Auburn has met their match with ranked teams at home after No. 10 Tennessee and No. 7 Mississippi State blew out the Tigers by 11 and 26, respectively, to begin the new year. Now, Auburn will have to battle the ranked Aggies at home in Auburn Arena.
A&M has had a successful run in the last three contests, with wins on the road against Vanderbilt and Georgia, and a routing of Alabama at home on Jan. 13. In the game against Georgia, sophomore forward N’dea Jones recorded 21 rebounds — the most in a regular-season game from an A&M basketball player. Leading SEC scorer, Chennedy Carter was also a focal point of the win against Georgia, with a season-high 31 points.
The Tiger’s have boasted an experienced roster that has been troubled over the past couple of games after being routed by Mississippi State on Jan. 14.
After a subpar showing against the Bulldogs, Auburn found themselves down by 20 to a Vanderbilt team that has yet to pick up their first conference win. The Commodores eventually blew the lead after Auburn senior guard Janiah McKay ended the night with 19 points, leading them to a comeback victory on the road.
A&M will have to watch out for junior guard Daisa Alexander and redshirt junior guard Crystal Primm, along with sophomore forward Unique Thompson, all have averaged 11 points or more per game this season.
“Another team with three studs that you’ve got to go out and be able to stop,” A&M head coach Gary Blair said. “Just like Georgia had three. … Every team in the SEC is going to have at least three players that could start for anybody in our league.”
Despite the struggles of late, A&M will still have to hash it out with an Auburn team that runs a strong press and one of the better defenses in the SEC. Although they aren’t a physically big team, Auburn will be competitive with their guard play. Defensively, the Aggies will have to guard the perimeter closer than usual to cut off the three-point game from Auburn.
The post game will be a big factor for A&M on offense. Auburn is guard-heavy and does not hold a lot of depth in the paint. Although Thompson will be a very important presence for Auburn, A&M will challenge her on every possession. N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson will be crashing the boards and looking for every possibility to make a great play inside for the Aggies.
“They’re the best,” Blair said. “They have been the best ever since I’ve been in the SEC with their press. If we can hold our turnovers to 15, we’ve got a great chance.”
A&M will travel to Alabama to face Auburn in the Auburn Arena on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on SEC Network.