Texas A&M
22-6, 10-4SEC
Florida
12-15, 4-10SEC
No. 15 Women Pick Up 17th Straight At Home, Downing Florida 66-46
Feb 22, 2015 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Courtney Williams led a balanced attack on Sunday with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists as No. 15 Texas A&M beat Florida 66-46 in the annual BTHO Breast Cancer Game.
Achiri Ade added 10 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Aggies (22-6, 10-4 SEC), who won their 17th straight at Reed Arena. Khaalia Hillsman and Courtney Walker scored nine apiece, and Jordan Jones had eight points and six assists.
Texas A&M stretched its lead to 54-33 midway through the second half with a 15-2 run. Florida (12-15, 4-10) got no closer than 56-41 on Ronni Williams' basket with 6:02 left.
Williams had 14 points and Haley Lorenzen scored 10 to lead the Gators.
Both teams went without a 3-pointer - Florida with eight missed attempts and A&M with six.
The Aggies have trailed at halftime in their first seven SEC games this season and led in the seven games since.
Texas A&M concludes the home portion of the regular season on Thursday, February 26 at 7 p.m. when Missouri comes to Reed Arena for Senior Night.
QUICKIE NOTES
- Texas A&M has won 17 straight home games, which is tied for the second-longest home winning streak in school history. The Aggies are 29-2 at home since the start of the 2013-14 season.
- The Aggies are 123-3 against unranked teams at home since Feb. 2005. The Aggies have won 27 straight against unranked teams at home.
- Texas A&M is still tied for third place in the SEC standings at 10-4. Texas A&M started February in seventh place in the SEC standings.
- The Aggies have led by at least 22 points in some point of each of their last three games.
- Jada Terry has now made 18 of her last 20 field goals. She was 3-3 today.
- Courtney Williams scored in double figures for the ninth time in the past 10 games, 18th time this season and 52nd time in her career.
- Achiri Ade scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and 15th time in her career.
- Courtney Walker needs 33 points to tie Danielle Adams (2009-11, 1,386) for eighth all-time on A&M's career points list
- Jordan Jones needs 109 assists to tie A'Quonesia Franklin (2004-08, 516) for third all-time on A&M's career assists list
- Chelsea Jennings matched her career-high with eight rebounds
- Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 694-278 in his career and 286-115 at Texas A&M. He needs six more wins to become the 15th Division I Head Coach with 700+ wins.
- Texas A&M is 22-6 on the season and 10-4 in the SEC. Florida is 12-15 on the season and 4-10 in SEC play.
Postgame Quotes
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Thoughts on the game….
“Obviously, we are very disappointed for a long list of reasons. Tonight, A&M did exactly what they needed to do to win. You're playing one of the best teams in the country on their home court. They are well coached and have two of the best guards in the conference. Our effort and our execution has got to be a whole lot better. A&M set the tone and you have to tip your hat to them.”
Texas A&M Freshman Khaalia Hillsman
On turning the corner in the last few games…
“Our coaches have really stressed working hard in practice so you can prepare for being on the court. I've been coming to practice with the mindset to get better every day so that and when I get out onto the court it won't be so difficult.”
On staying consistent throughout the game…
“Sometimes we have trouble staying consistent when we start the game, but I think we've been getting way better at picking it up after we stop being consistent. I think that's what we did in the second half when our energy was lacking. We had our captains and our leaders tell us “pick it up, we are better than this”. That helped us put Florida away.”
Texas A&M Junior Chelsea Jennings
On importance of wrapping up February on a high note…
“Right now we have to have a sense of urgency about everything. We have two games left- one home game left. It's crunch time right now. I think it's very big that we continue the energy that we have and stay positive.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening statement…
“First, about the game itself and what we were playing for. I had a chance to watch North Carolina State beat Duke today. I talked to the girls about not just home court, not just about where we are in the SEC, but what we're playing for. We really came out fired up, ready to play and start the ball game. We got into foul trouble with the two C.W.'s, but I trust my bench. They came in and did an excellent job. I thought Jennings was very good, very active. She gave me eight rebounds and five points in twenty minutes. Tori Scott came in and looked like her old self today. I really wanted to leave her in and give her more minutes, but Walker and Williams were playing so well. They show that they didn't have to score to be effective. That was the first time in a long time Walker was under double digits. Williams played well in the second half too. I thought it was just a good team effort. We played ten players before the ten minute mark in the game, and there was no drop off. I give Florida credit because I thought they trapped my point guard very well. Overall though, Jordan directed my team. I thought we put the hammer down when we had to. We're going to take the win and go back and figure out what we need to do against Missouri.”
“Everything depends on Teas A&M. Take care of business, hopefully, we can get third in the lead. Worse comes to worse, fourth.”
On coming back from the big win against Kentucky…
“We talked about Florida coming off an emotional home loss that more or less knocked them out of everything. The question was how were they going to respond and how were we going to respond? We had the first blow, or the first punch. That's what you want. The home court was good, the crowd was good, and the calls of the game were very good. I'm so proud of our sport and women's basketball across the country getting behind this. ”
