Texas A&M
9-0,0-0SEC
Northwestern State
0-5,0-0Southland
No. 9 Aggies Close Non-Conference With Record Performance
Dec 28, 2020 | Women's Basketball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION (AP)--Destiny Pitts scored 14 points to lead No. 9 Texas A&M to a 112-26 victory over Northwestern State on Monday night.
Kayla Wells and Ciera Johnson each added 13 points as the Aggies (9-0) set a school record for scoring. The previous mark came in a 111-83 victory over Lamar on Nov. 15, 1995.
Alexis Morris added 12 points and Zaay Green, a transfer from Tennessee, had 10 in her Aggies debut.
A&M shot 58.3% from the field (42 of 72), including 12 of 23 (52.2%) on 3-pointers.
Anessa Dussette scored eight points to lead Northwestern State (0-5), which made only 9 of 50 field goals and had 26 turnovers that A&M converted to 36 points.
Morris ended the first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cap a 20-0 run for a 64-13 lead. A&M made 7 of 8 field goals in the four-minute stretch, while Northwestern State missed six shots and had five turnovers that led to 10 A&M points.
The Aggies got rolling early, grabbing a 20-6 lead in just over five minutes by hitting all eight field goals. Northwestern State attempted only six field goals, hitting a pair of 3-pointers because of ballhandling woes with six turnovers.
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POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M completed non-conference play with an undefeated record for the first time in program history, finishing 9-0 against non-conference opponents this season.
- Following Monday's game, Texas A&M climbs to 9-0 while Northwestern State falls to 0-5.
- The Aggies rise to 6-2 in the all-time series against the Lady Demons.
- The Maroon & White extend their winning streak to 14 games against opponents outside the Southeastern Conference.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M scored a program-record 112 points on Monday, beating out the previous total of 111 set against Lamar on Nov. 15, 1995. The last time the Aggies crossed the century mark was a 104-point outburst against Arkansas on Feb. 22, 2018.
- The Aggies cemented the largest margin of victory in program history, defeating the Lady Demons by an 86-point differential. The previous program record for margin of victory was 83 points, last set on Nov. 21, 2006 against McNeese.
- A&M tied the program record for three-pointers made in a game with 12 baskets from beyond the arc. The Aggies recorded 12 three-pointers twice prior to today's game, last against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2013.
- The Maroon & White defense allowed 26 points; tying the third fewest points allowed in program history. The last time A&M allowed 26-or-fewer points was on Dec. 4, 2012 against Louisiana Tech.
- A&M's defense did not allow a single Northwestern State player to score in double figures, a feat last accomplished against Alabama on Jan. 13, 2019.
- The 35-2 scoring margin in the second period saw A&M register its season high for points in a quarter coupled with its season low in points allowed in a period.
- The Aggies maintained a 30-0 scoring run over 7:42 of gameplay, the largest run of the season.
- Five Aggies scored in double figures for the third time in nine games, with Kayla Wells, Ciera Johnson, Zaay Green, Destiny Pitts and Alexis Morris crossing the double-digit threshold.
- Field goal percentage told the story of the game, as Texas A&M shot .583 percent from the field compared to Northwestern State's .180 percent clip.
- Texas A&M forced 26 turnovers against the Lady Demons, the second-most turnovers forced in a game this season. The Aggies yielded only six turnovers in the game, securing a new season-best mark in the category.
- All 15 members of the Texas A&M women's basketball roster made an appearance against the Lady Demons, with 14 players recording at least one made field goal.
- The Aggies started the game with a lineup of Aaliyah Wilson, Jordan Nixon, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the ninth time this year.
- Ciera Johnson, N'dea Jones and Kayla Wells started their 73rd consecutive game as a trio at Texas A&M.
- The Aggie bench outscored the starters 69-43.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Ella Tofaeono tied her season high in rebounds with five boards, also contributing four points and an assist in a season-high 10 minutes of action.
- Zaay Green made her first appearance as an Aggie, finishing with 10 points, four assists, two steals and a block in her debut.
- Aaliyah Wilson logged another strong performance on both ends of the court, recording eight points, four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 11 minutes.
- Destiny Pitts scored a season-high 14 points to lead all players while tying her season high in three-pointers made with four. The senior guard added a season-high five rebounds and a block in 15 minutes of game action off the bench.
- Kay Kay Green set a new career high in scoring with nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 clip from behind the three-point arc. The Chicago, Illinois, native tied her career high in rebounds with two, added her first collegiate steal, and dished out two assists.
- Jordan Nixon was one of three Aggies that recorded four assists, also chipping in two points and two steals in 13 minutes.
- Kayla Wells scored 13 points, corralled three rebounds, added four assists and a steal while recording an astronomical team season-high plus-53 plus/minus.
- Maliyah Johnson led the Aggies in minutes played with a career-high 24, contributing a stat line of two points, five rebounds, and a career-high three assists.
- Sahara Jones logged career highs in points (eight), three-pointers made (two), assists (one) and minutes played (16). The freshman guard also added two rebounds.
- N'dea Jones finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in a mere 14 minutes of playing time.
- Anna Dreimane recorded a season high in points (six), rebounds (five), field goals made (three) and minutes played (12) while swatting away two blocks.
- Ciera Johnson sank all five of her shot attempts, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in only 12 minutes of playing time.
- Alexis Morris continued her excellent bench play on Monday, tying her career high in steals (four) while accumulating 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes.
- Gary Blair's individual career record as a head coach improves to 822-330 with a 414-167 mark in Aggieland.
UP NEXT
The No. 9 Texas A&M women's basketball team opens SEC play at home against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in a 6 p.m. matchup at Reed Arena on New Year's Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020), with the nationally televised broadcast available on ESPNU.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
"I thought we had a complete game. We've been on them hard for two days and we wanted to make sure that we brought it to the court, and I think we did, the intensity that we had, a lot of times we've had it early in the season for 20 to 24 seconds on a 30 second clock. But we had it for the majority of the time, but really praise our defense for what we did. Coach Starkey had them ready to play. I thought my backup post player Anna [Dreimane] played very well, started using the glass and scored easy, and had a great block down there. My starters, I was able to limit the minutes because I have 15 players that are ready to go. I was glad to see [Kayla] Wells play as well and she did in there. I could have played her more. N'dea [Jones] got the heck knocked out of her in pre-practice today. We thought she was going to have to have stitches in her lip but she didn't, but that was one of the reasons she didn't play as much. I will need her for so many minutes against Tennessee. We were able to limit her and Ciera [Johnson] which is effective because they didn't have the size to stay with her, but when you can sit there and have basically 14 players in double-figure minutes played, and Ella [Tofaeono] would have got double figures if she hadn't bowled over that last kid on that charge said she did, but I was pleased the starters went 24-for-27. So we talked about from good to great shots. Good to great, not just shoot because you're open. We knew this was a first year coach there, she'll build that program up like she's done every place that she has been but sometimes you cannot do it just by taking the job, you've got to get your recruits in, and get your system in place. Northwestern State, in the years to come will be at the top of the Southland Conference, because she knows what she's doing. I was really pleased with the two young ladies, Kay Kay Green from Chicago and Sahara Jones from San Antonio. You can see what the future looks like. So you're right, we have five grad students that are playing, who knows what's going to happen at the end of the year, we get to play the whole year and have the tournament. Right now, it's our job to develop kids, and I think, our systems."
On the undefeated start heading into conference play…
"It's great, but it's got an asterisk by it, because we lost four games. Don't forget we didn't get a chance to play Indiana, we didn't get a chance to play TCU, we didn't get a chance to go to the Bahamas and play some good teams over there. So we'll take it as it is. Those three road games made up for some of the four games that we didn't get to play so you can't get too high or too low. This is an asterisk year, but we're making the most of it. So 9-0 was tremendous, but 10-0 is the only number I'm interested in, and we're fixing to have a war on New Year's Eve. It will be a typical A&M and Tennessee game, ups and downs by both teams and I'm looking forward to it."
On if the team is ready for Tennessee…
"Well we're not prepared yet, because we had to worry about this one but we'll get there. We're healthy, our kids are working hard, but anytime you play Tennessee, the game is usually won or lost on the boards. They're relentless about going to the boards they've got size, they've got depth coming off the bench and I think this Tennessee team is a top-25 team right now which they would be in if they hadn't lost that overtime game to West Virginia. But my gosh, they're a lot better than some of the teams that are in the top 25. So they're top 25, anytime you have an eight-time national champion coming into your arena, I want to put butts in the seats. Okay, we can hold over 3000 that's what our allotment is here for this game. So, yeah it'll be on TV. Yeah, you'll write about it, we'll see all the highlights on your TV stations, but I need butts in the seats. Okay, what a way, New Year's Eve, 6 pm to 7:45 pm, then you can go out and have a good time after that but first Aggie fans, you've got a job to do, and that's to come out and see us play."
Freshman guard Sahara Jones
On if the team was aware that they scored the most points in A&M history…
"No, we actually weren't aware. We found out after we won the game."
On being surrounded by a number of experienced players…
"As a freshman, it's been good, but it's also been hard, because you're coming in behind a whole bunch of seniors that know everything. They have been in the system for a long time but learning from them has also been great because they already know what to do and they know what to expect. So, their willingness to help me and tell me what to do makes this experience even better."
Freshman guard Kay Kay Green
On what the win means going into conference play…
"Everybody is confident. You know going into SEC play we need all the confidence we can get. So, this is a good game for us to go into SEC play."
On what she saw from the team in tonight's game…
"I think we learned a lot from this game, especially on the defensive end, we held them [Northwestern State] to 26 points, so that was a good job on the defensive end. We are just a really focused team right now on both offense and defense."
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