No. 16 Women Beat Little Rock 69-39 Behind Walker's 29

Tuesday, December 22

College Station

12:00 PM

Texas A&M

9-3

Little Rock

2-7

Little Rock

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 22, 2015 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION- Behind a career-high of 29 points from Courtney Walker, No. 16 Texas A&M avenged a loss from the 2015 NCAA Tournament, beating Little Rock 69-39 in a women's basketball game at Reed Arena on Tuesday afternoon.

Walker, a two-time All-American, went 10-of-11 from the field and was 9-of-10 from the line for her 29 points. She bested her previous career-high of 27, set on Feb. 16, 2015 against Alabama.

Walker had 12 of the Aggies' (9-3) first 15 points, as Texas A&M would go on to lead Little Rock (2-7) 30-22 at halftime. A&M blew open the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Trojans 27-8 in the third frame.

Anriel Howard led the Aggies with eight rebounds, while Curtyce Knox added five assists.

Little Rock did not attempt a free throw in the game, which obviously ties an NCAA Record. Saint Francis of Brooklyn was the last team to not attempt a free throw prior to this season, on March 21, 2015.

The Aggies return to action on Dec. 29 to host Prairie View A&M at Reed Arena at 2 p.m.

NOTES

Texas A&M is 5-1 at home this year, and has won 22 of their last 24 home games. The Aggies are 34-4 at home since the start of the 2013-14 season.
The Aggies are 194-71 at Reed Arena all-time
The Aggies allowed only six points in the first quarter, which ties the fewest points allowed in a quarter for A&M. The women's game switched from 20-minute halves to 10-minute quarters for the 2015-16 season.
Courtney Walker had a career-high 29 points, besting her previous high of 27, set on Feb. 16, 2015 vs. Alabama
- Walker went 10-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line
- She scored 20+ points for the fourth time this season and the 23rd time in her career
- She reached double figures for the fourth straight game and 11th time this season. She has 84 career double-figure scoring games.
- Walker scored 12 of A&M's first 15 points
Shlonte Allen had a senior college career-high with nine points, and two 3-pointers
Anriel Howard had a season-high eight rebounds
Curtyce Knox had a season-high five assists
Little Rock did not attempt a free throw in the game, which obviously matches an NCAA Record. Saint Francis of Brooklyn was the last team to not attempt a free throw prior to this season, on Mar. 21, 2015
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 704-285 in his 31-year head coaching career and 296-122 in 13 seasons at Texas A&M. Blair ranks 15th all-time and eighth among active coaches in career wins
This was one of five games nationally this season featuring two coaches with 700+ career wins
The Aggies are 9-3 on the season, while the Trojans fall to 2-7

QUOTES

Texas A&M guard Courtney Walker
What led to the 29-point outburst today…
"I was just able to relax and find my shots today. I think at Oklahoma I was a little but nervous. But back home in College Station I was relaxed all the way. I had some good cuts and let the shots come off easy. A lot of defensive momentum led into the offense. We weren't really complicating things today. We played mostly bread-and-butter sets."

On the NCAA tourney rematch
"The loss last year was the one thing that kept us focused ... I think it was up to the seniors to keep the team's minds here just for a couple of more hours because, we were facing a good team. Little Rock has played a lot of teams close like Oklahoma. We knew it was going to be a big challenge we couldn't come out lackadaisical."

Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
"(Little Rock Head Coach) Joe Foley is an institution over there in Arkansas. I think he's the best coach, men's or women's in the state. He just does a tremendous job, but Little Rock was short handed today. Their best player hasn't played the last two games and I think that hurt them in scoring. That's what let them play so well against LSU, Texas and Oklahoma because of his coaching and how they run motion."

On Jordan Jones' impact…
"I thought Jordan came out well in the second half after she was committing too many fouls in the last two first halves of each game. It shows you how deep we are that we can overcome that. It scared us that Little Rock outscored us in the second half when Jordan wasn't on the floor. Our offense doesn't flow as well as it should we she isn't in there. My backups are getting better. Shlonte is getting better out there."

On Courtney Walker's performance…
"I'm really happy for Walker. I'm that glad people can see that you don't have to get to the rim a lot or shoot threes all the time. You can have a mid-range game, and I don't think there's a player in the country that has a better mid-range game than her. I'd like to take credit for that it but she was shooting that well when she got out of High school. So, give the credit to her high school coaches and her parents. She was just on fire individually against a pretty good defensive team. No one has been able to light up Little Rock like Walker did today."