Facing each other for the second time this season, the No. 15 Texas A&M women’s basketball defeated the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks 82-52 in the second round of the SEC tournament at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday.
The Aggies now move to 23-8 (11-5 SEC) for the season and advance to the quarterfinals. While, Arkansas ends their tournament run and finishing with a final record of 13-18 (3-13 SEC).
A&M head coach, Gary Blair said he was proud of his players played on both offense and defense, and said he is ready to face against their next opponent Louisiana State.
“Give my kids credit. I thought Danni [Williams] and Chennedy [Carter] shot the ball very well.” Blair said. “Anriel [Howard] in the second half got every rebound there was. I’m just proud of my kids. I was able to rest some and hopefully we’ll be ready for the very good LSU team tomorrow.”
Despite losing by a 44-point margin in their last matchup, the Lady Razorbacks went back-and-forth with the Aggies in the first quarter. Not letting them get ahead by more than three points the majority of the half.
Juniors Anriel Howard and Danni Williams and senior Khaalia Hillsman made three consecutive jump shots to bump the Aggies over Arkansas 23-13 entering the second quarter.
The second quarter belonged to A&M and allowed them to secure a 22-point lead going into halftime. Williams and freshman Chennedy Carter were the primary scorers for the Aggies in this quarter with each player scoring a layup and three-pointer for the team.
Williams didn’t stop here, she dominated the three-point line in the third quarter, shooting three within four minutes and along with Hillsman, helped the Aggies move to a point of no return at 63-34.
The Lady Razorbacks showed more fight in the second half, ending the third quarter scoring 15 points opposite the Aggies’ 22 points. Junior, Malica Monk lead Arkansas in this quarter with seven points, along with Devin Cosper and Taylah Thomas who made up the other eight.
Again, the fourth quarter allowed the Lady Razorbacks to come within one point of the Aggies, scoring 18 points opposite of the Aggies’ 19 points. However, the large lead by A&M at the half was enough to create space that even a great second half by Arkansas wouldn’t be enough to overcome it.
A&M’s 82-52 victory was led by Williams with 22 points, making this her second straight 20-plus game. Hillsman ended the game with 13 rebounds, while Carter broke her own record for most assists against an SEC opponent by finishing with eight assists. The Lady Razorbacks were led by Devin Cosper with 15 points and Malica Monk with five rebounds.
Senior Jasmine Lumpkin said A&M’s level of intensity and teamwork was the reason for their win against Arkansas.
“I think we just came out with that intensity. We all came and played together. We knew that we’re not trying to stop with the first game, we’re trying to get to the championship. But we have to take it one game at a time. I’m proud of my team and the way we fought, the way we came out and played hard.” Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin said the team is excited to play against LSU on Friday and hopes they come out with the same intensity as they did with Arkansas.
“I’m excited to play against their team. They have some really good guards.” Lumpkin said. “It’s going to be a battle for sure, but we just have to come out and compete, we have to play hard. We have to come out with that intensity and everybody has to play together.”
Texas A&M will continue their tournament run on Friday as they face against No. 4 seed LSU in the SEC quarterfinals. Tipoff will start at approximately 2 p.m.