Texas A&M
8-1,0-0SEC
TCU
7-1,0-0Big 12
Blair Grabs 799 as No. 11 Aggies Hold off TCU
Dec 11, 2019 | Women's Basketball
In a game in which no team led by more than seven all night, the Aggies (8-1) found themselves down 66-61 with 3:24 to play. After N'dea Jones sunk a layup to pull A&M within three, Carter tied the game with 76 seconds to go on a long 3-pointer from the left elbow.
Shambria Washington then forced a turnover on the ensuing possession, setting up a go-ahead layup by Carter with 32 seconds to go. TCU (7-1) would answer though as Jayde Woods tied the game at 68 on a drive through the lane with 12.6 to play.
Following an A&M timeout, Carter held the ball atop the key and then drove the lane past several defenders before sinking the floater from inside 10 feet to put the Aggies ahead. TCU was unable to get a shot off on its final possession and time expired.
The Aggies capitalized on seven Horned Frogs turnovers in the first quarter to open up a 19-12 lead, but TCU hit a pair of threes to start the second frame and jumped right back into the contest--eventually chipping away and sending the game into the locker room tied at 34.
TEAM NOTES
- Five Aggies scored in double figures for the first time this year.
- Texas A&M dominated TCU in the paint, outscoring the Horned Frogs 42-24.
- After TCU made five three pointers in the first half, Texas A&M locked down on defense and only allowed one three pointer in the second half.
- The Aggies made the game-winning shot with 3.0 seconds left, marking the second time this season they have decided the game in the final seconds, after Ciera Johnson made a game-winning layup to beat Rice.
- Texas A&M used a starting lineup of Chennedy Carter, Shambria Washington, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the ninth time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior guard Chennedy Carter led the Aggies with 25 points, notching her seventh 20+ point game this season.
- Carter extended her double-figure scoring streak to 48 games, and scored in double-figures in 73 of her 74 career games.
- Junior forward N'dea Jones recorded her first double-double this season, scoring 11 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. This is the fourth time this season she has recorded double-digit rebounds, and the first time in back-to-back games.
- Jones also blocked a season-high three shots.
- Junior guard Kayla Wells recorded 10 points, which is the fourth straight game she's scored in double-digits. She also played in a season-high 36 minutes.
- Junior forward Ciera Johnson scored 10 points, reaching double figures for the sixth time this season.
- Senior guard Shambria Washington tied her season-high in points with 10.
- Head coach Gary Blair earned the 799th victory of his career after topping TCU.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will host Houston on December 15th at Reed Arena at 1 p.m. Tickets are available here.
Postgame Quotes
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement:
"We said that rebounding would be the key and we only won the rebounding battle by one. I thought we started well, up 19-12, then, again, we quit running the basketball and being effective. That's where we've got to attack because when the jump shot isn't going you have to do something else. I thought that the defense in the second half did a fantastic job. [Lauren] Heard and [Kianna] Ray did a good job and I thought we did a decent job on [Jaycee] Bradley. We weren't giving her space, and she didn't play as much as she normally does. What hurt us, again, was rebounding with our guards not getting on the defensive boards. It's been our Achilles heel all year and we haven't corrected it. Yes, [Chennedy] Carter hit the last three baskets and had three big-time shots, that's what the best player is supposed to do. We had five kids in double figures, and I'm proud of that. When we needed it inside in the second half, we finally got some easy baskets with Ciera [Johnson] and N'dea [Jones] in there and I thought they played very well. If we're on the road we probably would have lost this game, but we were at home and the crowd helped us through, and when we got down by five, we'd been there before. We've played the teams to get us ready to make stops and plays down the stretch. I thought [Shambria Washington] saved us in the first half. We had balance, and I'll take that. Neither team was going to beat itself. Five out of their [TCU] top six are seniors. I've got [Shambria Washington] in there and four juniors that are pretty doggone good. Sometimes you have to give credit for teams making plays down the stretch. That was a good basketball team from TCU."
On takeaways from tonight's game…
"First, I'd like to thank all the fans that are living with us through this. We play tough. We aren't always the prettiest basketball team to watch, but we play very hard. You have to give the opponent credit, but we also have to get better. This is why we played this type of schedule to get ready for conference play. At the end of the game, my biggest takeaway was that I have Chennedy Carter. There aren't a lot of players that can pull off what she did at the end of that game."
Junior guard Chennedy Carter
On her teammates' support in the final moments…
"I think that's it's just me knowing [Shambria Washington] a little bit, just from playing with her for so long, I can read her eyes, I can tell when she wants to come back to me and really before the play we had a timeout and [Shambria Washington] was just like look 'I need you to score and take over' and it took me to a different place and it made me want to help my team out and do it for all of us, because we're all in it together. I just set my legs up and was confident. I know I haven't been shooting the three as well as I normally will, I think it's just taking me some time to get back into the flow, but if I keep being confident and my teammates keep finding me, they'll fall."
On the game-winning play…
"It was a two-three zone. We practice that a lot, so it was just a simple ball screen. I mean it's do-or-die time, take the best shot, get into the paint, if I missed I knew that I had two of best rebounders in the country, in my opinion, under the rim. Regardless of me missing or making it, I knew someone was going to get it and put it back in, so I was just fortunate enough to make the shot."
Senior guard Shambria Washington
On N'dea Jones' rebounding performance in tonight's game…
"We needed it, extra possessions, more rebounds, N'dea [Jones] and Cheah [Rael-Whitsitt] do a great job of that, Ciera [Johnson] as well. That's what we need. We know that we can depend on them to get the rebounds because they battle day in and day out. The SEC is physical in the post, so I think that they are used to rebounding against some of the best in the country and that's what we need, extra possessions to put points on the board."
Regarding what the team showed during the comeback in the fourth quarter…
"We don't give up; we fight with each other and for each other and that's what matters. When the odds are stacked against us, we just keep pushing and keep fighting, we have grit, we compete, and we're not going to let anyone outplay us. I know we are going to give each other all that we have for as long as we need to. All 12 of us, were going to fight until the end."
