Continuing to ride the momentum from last thursday’s road win against Alabama, No. 16 Texas A&M women’s basketball defeated the Louisiana State Tigers 69-59 at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair said he was proud of the many adjustments his players were able to make after trailing LSU at halftime and credited the low number of turnovers to their success in the second half.
“I was proud of how the kids took coaching and adjustments in the halftime. We went to a triple post-offense, then to a double high offense, then to a couple of other things,” Blair said. “Danni [Williams] found her stroke, Chennedy [Carter] started moving the ball and we only turned it over three times in the whole second half. I thought that was the difference in the game.”
A&M (16-5, 5-2 SEC) came out strong, securing a seven-point lead early in the game and forcing LSU (12-6, 4-3 SEC) to take a timeout with four minutes still left in the first quarter. The Aggies stayed on top and ended the first at 13-8 with senior Khaalia Hillsman scoring seven of those points.
Halfway through the second quarter, after what seemed to be a normal reach for the basket, Hillsman was subbed out of the game due to an unsportsmanlike conduct call after the LSU player guarding her went down, and stayed down.
Junior Chloe Jackson who has been the top scorer for LSU, averaging 22 points per game, was momentarily shaken up after the play.
However both Jackson and Hillsman returned to the game once the game was tied 19-19, after senior Raigyne Louis hit a jump shot. LSU led 26-23 going into halftime after Jackson was able to hit a mid-range jump shot.
LSU head coach Nikki Fargas said that in the first half she felt that her team was executing their game plan, but that it started to fade in the second half after Hillsman set the tone for the Aggies.
“I thought the first half, the tempo, the pace, and what we wanted to do defensively, our game plan was working,” Fargas said. “In the second half we definitely needed to adjust. We needed to make some adjustments on the boards, as well as not allowing [Khaalia] Hillsman. I thought she set the tone at the very beginning of the second half.”
A&M junior Danni Williams sunk a shot from three point range with four minutes left in the third quarter putting the Aggies back on top, 38-35.
With the crowd fired up and Reed filled with cheers, the Aggies began to fight back offensively and defensively. A&M wrapped up the third quarter leading 46-41, scoring 23 points and nine rebounds.
Hillsman said following the game that the support and energy from the fans helped give the team energy once they started to go on their run.
“Most definitely. The 12th Man is a big deal here and it was a pretty good crowd. I wasn’t sure when we first came out, but they actually drew pretty well today,” Hillsman said. “I think once we started going on our run that their energy really helped us have energy. The 12th man always brings it every time they come.”
The Aggies will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to face Vanderbilt on Sunday. Tipoff is set to begin at 2 p.m.