After suffering a tough loss to SEC-leader Mississippi State, Texas A&M is looking to recover at home against the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday.
The No. 21 Aggies hold a 19-6 overall record this season and are 8-4 in conference play. With Tennessee just two games behind (17-8, 6-6), Thursday’s matchup comes with serious implications for seeding in the conference tournament, which starts on March 7 in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Aggies can attribute much of their success to sophomore sensation Chennedy Carter. According to NCAA.com, Carter is 10th in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game along with 3.5 assists per game.
Carter said she hopes to motivate her teammates after a tough loss by moving forward and focusing on the Volunteers.
“The biggest thing for us is to come out prepared starting with practice,” Carter said. “We can’t sulk on a loss. We can only grow and get better from it. It’s about keying on our mistakes and getting better from them.”
A&M head Coach Gary Blair pointed back to the history of the conference and teams of Tennessee’s past to emphasize the importance of the upcoming game.
“We’ve got eight wins,” Blair said. “That’s historically meant we are in the tournament, but we want nine to be safe. … [Tennessee has] regrouped. They’re playing well, and they have always been the best offensive rebounding team in our conference since 1989.”
Blair said the game against Tennessee serves as a test against one of the high-quality SEC teams the Aggies are competing against this season.
“We’ve got to talk about physical and mental toughness,” Blair said. “It’s about getting ready for the big girls of the SEC — the Mississippi States, South Carolina’s and Tennessee. … They’re good, but we’re good too.”
With the Aggies losing two of their last three games, Blair said Thursday’s matchup can serve as a way to get the players’ heads straight.
“It’s about getting the confidence back from our team and knowing how good we are,” Blair said. “Wins and losses come and go, but if we can stay consistent between the ears, we will be alright. Play hard, play harder for longer periods of time, and I think we’ll be fine. We get better by playing better teams.”
The Aggies take on the Tennessee Volunteers Thursday at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
