After topping No. 15 Kentucky on Sunday, the No. 20 Texas A&M women’s basketball team is looking to extend its winning streak to six straight games as the Aggies take on Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Vanderbilt (6-14, 1-6 SEC) has had only one Southeastern Conference win this season — an 80-68 win over Ole Miss — and is coming off an 80-69 loss to South Carolina.
The Aggies and the Commodores last met three weeks ago, with A&M coming out on top 50-43. The victory at Memorial Gym in Nashville ignited the Aggies’ hot streak. However, the difference this time is a healthier Vanderbilt team, according to A&M head coach Gary Blair. In December, Vanderbilt had only seven active players on its roster due to various injuries.
“We’re going to have our work cut out against Vanderbilt,” Blair said. “We struggled to win that ball game in Nashville 50-43 and there hasn’t been too many games in my 16 years where we’ve won a game by only scoring 50 points. I’m in charge of the offense. I’ve got to find some more points.”
Junior guard LeaLea Carter is emerging as one of Vanderbilt’s top scorers, having racked up 20 points in three of her last four games. Blair compared her to Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard, who scored 21 points against A&M on Saturday.
Blair said one thing his team is focusing on is free throw percentage in the second half. Against Auburn on Jan. 24, the Aggies made nine of 10 free throws in the first half. After halftime, however, their success rate fell to 60 percent.
“Can you shoot under pressure when something’s on the line? That’s the whole key to any level,” Blair said. “What’s your shooting percentage from free throws in the last five minutes or two minutes of the game? You’re going to find a championship team that can shoot well in those situations.”
Sophomore Chennedy Carter contributed 20 points to A&M’s win over Kentucky. The sophomore guard leads the Aggies with 346 points and 28 three-pointers.
“Teams cannot stop Chennedy,” Blair said. “They try to slow her down and they try to make her shoot a low percentage, but her percentages are getting higher. I’m very pleased to have Chennedy Carter on my team.”
A&M is 16-4 on the season and 5-2 against conference opponents. This is A&M’s longest conference win streak since a six-game streak in the 2015-16 season.
The Aggies and Commodores will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Reed Arena. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.