Tuesday, November 5
College Station
7:00 PM
Texas A&M
1-0,0-0SEC
78
vs
35
Little Rock
0-1,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Little Rock
12
6
8
9
35
Texas A&M
21
23
23
11
78
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 6 Women's Basketball Topples the Trojans in Season Opener
Nov 05, 2019 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION – The No. 6 Texas A&M women's basketball team opened up the season in a big way, taking down Little Rock, 78-35 at Reed Arena Tuesday night. A&M was in charge nearly the entire game as three players finished scoring in double figures. Ciera Johnson led the Aggies with the 12th double-double of her career, kicking off the season with a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds.
After a close start, the Aggies used a 15-2 run late in the first quarter to pull away. They used another extensive scoring spree in the second quarter to boast a 44-18 lead at the break, dominating in the paint as they outscored Little Rock 30-4 over the first 20 minutes.
A&M continued to cruise in the second, never letting the Trojans get closer than 26 after the break. The Maroon & White dominated the hustle stats, outscoring them in the paint by 44, out-rebounding the visitors by 23 and scoring 16 more points off the bench.
TEAM NOTES
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
UP NEXT
The Aggies will to host the US Olympic Team on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network Plus, available online through cable and ESPN subscriptions.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
"I'd like to give a lot of credit to Coach Starkey, because defensively he did a tremendous job of not allowing them to get the ball inside in the paint. In the paint we were 52-8, but remember that I'm more interested in the 'eight' because that's all they got. We forced them into taking shots that they didn't want. We worked as hard on that to get ready for Little Rock as we did to get ready for Mississippi State or South Carolina. Give Coach Starkey a lot of credit. He had their attention. When they opened up the second half, they 4-for-8 to open up. He got on them a little bit, and we shut them down the rest of the way.
"I thought we were focused. We knew what we wanted to do. I'm proud of the fans that were here; I'm embarrassed of the fans that were not here. We're the highest ranked team at Texas A&M right now that's currently playing, and I think we deserve a little bit more. We're going to play the US Olympic team, that at least eight out of 12 of those will be on the Olympic team in Tokyo. If you're not going to come out to see the sixth ranked team, then at least come out to support the Olympians. The Red, White and Blue, they deserve every bit of it… I just hope people come out to see the future gold medal team."
On the team's efficiency…
"It's the efficiency, we started moving the ball around and I started calling some of my sets that they executed very well. In the second half we were running the same thing and we just couldn't hit the shots. I'd take every single one of those shots, but we were efficient tonight. We got to work on a few things and tighten up that press a little. It will be hard to press USA. We will be fading back on defense."
Junior Center Ciera Johnson
On her changes for this season…
"This year I was trying to get a little more comfortable, and my confidence is a lot better. You get used to playing against your team and practice players, so this year I am a lot more comfortable and the girls are looking to me a lot more."
On the guards helping her performance…
"They did their job. They passed it to me and all I had to do was shoot a layup. They basically did all the work, all I had to do was post up and shoot a layup."
Junior Guard Chennedy Carter
On Kayla Wells' performance…
"She did her job tonight. Kayla took what the defense was giving her, she had a big game against them last time so of course they're going to close in on them a little bit more. What people didn't realize is that she shut down their best player. She guarded them the whole game."
On playing the US Women's National Team…
"I'm excited. I'll keep it short and sweet. We're going to play hard and we're going to compete. I think it will be a good game. It'll be a measuring stick for us. I think our team is ready. We're embracing the moment and we're going to continue to play hard and win regardless of who is in front of us."
After a close start, the Aggies used a 15-2 run late in the first quarter to pull away. They used another extensive scoring spree in the second quarter to boast a 44-18 lead at the break, dominating in the paint as they outscored Little Rock 30-4 over the first 20 minutes.
A&M continued to cruise in the second, never letting the Trojans get closer than 26 after the break. The Maroon & White dominated the hustle stats, outscoring them in the paint by 44, out-rebounding the visitors by 23 and scoring 16 more points off the bench.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies averaged 32.4 points in the paint last season and scored 30 in the first half alone against Little Rock.
- A&M only allowed the Trojans to score 35 points in the game, the fewest points allowed in the series.
- The Aggies moved to 10-2 all-time against Little Rock, 6-0 in College Station.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Chennedy Carter, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Ciera Johnson put up 18 points in the first half, matching the Little Rock team total. She finished with a career-high 24 points and added 13 rebounds.
- Johnson notched double-digit field goals for the first time in her career with 11 in the victory.
- This was the second time in her career Johnson has scored 20-plus points, first doing so at Florida last season.
- Chennedy Carter scored in double figures for the 40th consecutive game with 16 points against the Trojans. She also added five rebounds and a near-career-high six assists.
- N'dea Jones rounded out the double-digit scorer for A&M recording her 12th career game in double figures with 13 points, sinking a career-best nine free throws on 10 attempts.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will to host the US Olympic Team on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network Plus, available online through cable and ESPN subscriptions.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
"I'd like to give a lot of credit to Coach Starkey, because defensively he did a tremendous job of not allowing them to get the ball inside in the paint. In the paint we were 52-8, but remember that I'm more interested in the 'eight' because that's all they got. We forced them into taking shots that they didn't want. We worked as hard on that to get ready for Little Rock as we did to get ready for Mississippi State or South Carolina. Give Coach Starkey a lot of credit. He had their attention. When they opened up the second half, they 4-for-8 to open up. He got on them a little bit, and we shut them down the rest of the way.
"I thought we were focused. We knew what we wanted to do. I'm proud of the fans that were here; I'm embarrassed of the fans that were not here. We're the highest ranked team at Texas A&M right now that's currently playing, and I think we deserve a little bit more. We're going to play the US Olympic team, that at least eight out of 12 of those will be on the Olympic team in Tokyo. If you're not going to come out to see the sixth ranked team, then at least come out to support the Olympians. The Red, White and Blue, they deserve every bit of it… I just hope people come out to see the future gold medal team."
On the team's efficiency…
"It's the efficiency, we started moving the ball around and I started calling some of my sets that they executed very well. In the second half we were running the same thing and we just couldn't hit the shots. I'd take every single one of those shots, but we were efficient tonight. We got to work on a few things and tighten up that press a little. It will be hard to press USA. We will be fading back on defense."
Junior Center Ciera Johnson
On her changes for this season…
"This year I was trying to get a little more comfortable, and my confidence is a lot better. You get used to playing against your team and practice players, so this year I am a lot more comfortable and the girls are looking to me a lot more."
On the guards helping her performance…
"They did their job. They passed it to me and all I had to do was shoot a layup. They basically did all the work, all I had to do was post up and shoot a layup."
Junior Guard Chennedy Carter
On Kayla Wells' performance…
"She did her job tonight. Kayla took what the defense was giving her, she had a big game against them last time so of course they're going to close in on them a little bit more. What people didn't realize is that she shut down their best player. She guarded them the whole game."
On playing the US Women's National Team…
"I'm excited. I'll keep it short and sweet. We're going to play hard and we're going to compete. I think it will be a good game. It'll be a measuring stick for us. I think our team is ready. We're embracing the moment and we're going to continue to play hard and win regardless of who is in front of us."
Team Stats
LR
TA&M
FG%
.276
.477
3FG%
.143
.167
FT%
.500
.833
RB
27
50
TO
14
10
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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