The sixth seeded Aggies kicked off the 2017 SEC Tournament defeating No. 11-seed Florida 67-48 in the second round of the tournament. The Aggies move to 20-6 overall and are now 6-3 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
Florida advanced to game four of the SEC Tournament with an 71-61 victory over Arkansas, Wednesday. They were paired up against the Aggies who boast three of first-time All-SEC honorees Khaalia Hillsman, Curtyce Knox, and Danni Williams. However, an extremely slow start for the Aggies had them playing catchup for the majority of the competition.
It wasn’t until just under three minutes remained in the first quarter that A&M scored only their second basket of the game. The Gators also struggled to put any points on the board and went scoreless for those remaining three minutes. Knox leads the nation with 9.4 assists per game and was able to conduct play from the outside. Unfortunately a lingering tendency to turnover possession slackened the Aggies’ offensive spark.
The two squads went into the locker room after a 12-0 run by the Gators leading to a 21-18 Florida advantage over A&M. Returning to the hardwood in the second half, the Aggies went on a 9-0 run to quickly claim the lead.
After the mediocre start, Hillsman notched her 13 double-double of the season to carry A&M to a huge 49-point second half. Hillsman finished with 24 total points and grabbed 11 rebounds while sophomore guard Danni Williams put up 17 on the board herself.
Texas A&M will take on No. 3 seed Missouri Tigers in the Quarterfinals. Tipoff is slated for Friday night at 7:15 pm CST in Greenville, South Carolina.
