Sunday, February 23
College Station
3:00 PM
Texas A&M
22-5,10-4SEC
84
vs
54
Auburn
9-16,3-11SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Auburn
11
21
17
5
54
Texas A&M
25
19
19
21
84
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 16 Aggies Run Away With Senior Day Victory Over Auburn
Feb 23, 2020 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 16 Texas A&M women's basketball team earned a dominant 84-54 victory over Auburn on Senior Day Sunday at Reed Arena. The Aggies jumped out to a large lead in the first quarter and never allowed the Tigers to get back within single digits. All-American Chennedy Carter led four Aggies in double figures with 23 points in the win.
A&M (22-5, 10-4 SEC) distanced itself early on and closed out the first quarter on a 12-2 run, boasting a 25-11 lead by the end of the first period. Auburn (9-16, 3-11 SEC) stepped up in the second to work its way back into the game, but the Aggies remained in control at the break, up 44-32.
It was another close quarter of play in the third, but A&M forced the Tigers to shoot just 12.5-percent from the field in the final period. The stifling defense helped secure the victory, as the Aggies won the fourth quarter, 21-5.
The Maroon and White dominated the paint, outscoring Auburn, 38-16, down low. The Aggie bench also came alive, pitching in 26 points, with Aaliyah Wilson leading all bench scorers with 12 points.
TEAM NOTES
UP NEXT
Texas A&M will remain at Reed Arena for its final regular season home on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening statement…
"We did an outstanding job on defense, particularly on Unique Thompson. We limited her touches and we were taking their [Auburn's] possessions down to about five seconds left on the shot clock. They hit their stride by hitting threes, but that's what they've been doing for the past five ball games. That is the best 3-11 team in a power five conference in conference play. That's just how good the SEC is. Everything turned out perfect for us today as far as the SEC standings are concerned. Now, what we have to do is not worry about anybody except Texas A&M. We need to take care of that last home game [On Thursday against Alabama]."
On Chennedy Carter's overall production this afternoon…
"She [Chennedy Carter] loves to share the ball, and she loves to get her teammates involved. She just tore apart their zone, whether it was on a ball-reversal or coming off screens and shooting the mid-range shot. She was just efficient. She was efficient when she scored 37 points, but today the game was just so effortless for her. It didn't even look like she was breaking a sweat out there."
On what Jasmine Williams means to the team…
"I knew that I wanted to play Jazz [Jasmine Williams] early, because it's like having a coach out there on the floor. She knows what the other team is doing and what we're doing. As you get further along in your career, efficiency happens. That's why she's getting to be so efficient with the basketball making decisions. That's where a senior should be. I'm just happy with all of the seniors. I knew I wanted to put her [Williams] in the game early no matter what the score was. [I wanted] to recognize the contributions she's made to this basketball team, both on and off the court, and what she's done at the Mays Business School."
Texas A&M Forward Cheah Rael-Whitsitt
On what the senior class gives to the team…
"I feel like we give energy, power, motivation and our all. Each one of us gives everything we have at every moment. Sham [Shambria Washington] on the court keeps us level-headed and mindful. Sharing the ball is an attribute that a lot of people don't have, and she has that. Jazz [Jasmine Williams] has spirit. Without her, I would have difficulty being spirited as well. I'm proud of our little class. I think we make a huge difference on and off the court."
Texas A&M Guard Jasmine Williams
On if the team is meeting her expectations…
"For sure. We are definitely on track to where we want to be going into the postseason. Pieces are starting to fall into place, and players are starting to realize their roles. We have our whole starting five back, and are firing on all cylinders. We got our bench ready to come in and fill a roll if need be. Our coaching staff is working diligently from here on out. I think this is a great place, and a great starting point to propel us into the postseason."
On what was working for her…
"Shots did fall, but whenever I come in I try to bring the same energy I have on the bench and try translate that over to the court. Most of the time it works."
Texas A&M Guard Shambria Washington
On the impact senior day had on their performance…
"I think it is important to play every game like it is your last, and give it all you have got day-in and day-out. Because you never know if it could be your last game on any given night. I think it is a blessing to have the opportunity to play at this level, so we can't take it for granted. We play as hard as we can, practice as hard as we can, and give back to the University for allowing us to play for them. Give back to our fans, our coaches and our teammates. Play hard for each other, and have each other's back. I think that's what we did tonight, regardless of if it was senior night or not. Our team came out and played extremely hard, considering it was senior night. They had our backs today, as always."
On what it is like when shots are falling…
"I think it's fun. We played as a team, and our energy was high. Jazz [Jasmine Williams] always brings energy to the table, so we try to match her energy. It's not easy, but we try. Everyone did shoot pretty well from the field. I think we shared the basketball, and we really played as a team. It was really fun. We had smiles throughout the whole game. At halftime, we were loose, we were happy and we came out and competed."
A&M (22-5, 10-4 SEC) distanced itself early on and closed out the first quarter on a 12-2 run, boasting a 25-11 lead by the end of the first period. Auburn (9-16, 3-11 SEC) stepped up in the second to work its way back into the game, but the Aggies remained in control at the break, up 44-32.
It was another close quarter of play in the third, but A&M forced the Tigers to shoot just 12.5-percent from the field in the final period. The stifling defense helped secure the victory, as the Aggies won the fourth quarter, 21-5.
The Maroon and White dominated the paint, outscoring Auburn, 38-16, down low. The Aggie bench also came alive, pitching in 26 points, with Aaliyah Wilson leading all bench scorers with 12 points.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies outrebounded Auburn 43-21, outscoring the Tigers 38-16 in the paint.
- A&M forced its opponent to shoot below 40-percent for the 16th time this season as the Tigers shot just 38.6-percent from the floor.
- The Aggies set a season high as they dished out 29 assists in the game.
- A&M used a starting lineup of Shambria Washington, Chennedy Carter, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson for the 20th time this season.
- The Maroon and White are now 14-0 against Auburn all-time.
- Junior guard Chennedy Carter extended her double-digit scoring streak to 59 games, as she led the way with 23 points in the win.
- Carter, who is A&M's all-time leader in 20-plus point games, scored in the 20's for the 14th time this season and 61st time in her career.
- Junior guard Kayla Wells added 13 points for the Aggies to score in double figures for the 10th time in the last 11 games.
- Junior Aaliyah Wilson put up 12 points to help A&M's bench outscore Auburn's 26-8.
- Senior Shambria Washington tallied eight assists in the win for her 14th game of the year with five-or-more helpers.
- Junior N'dea Jones grabbed 12 rebounds, and moved into ninth on the all-time Aggie rebound list.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M will remain at Reed Arena for its final regular season home on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening statement…
"We did an outstanding job on defense, particularly on Unique Thompson. We limited her touches and we were taking their [Auburn's] possessions down to about five seconds left on the shot clock. They hit their stride by hitting threes, but that's what they've been doing for the past five ball games. That is the best 3-11 team in a power five conference in conference play. That's just how good the SEC is. Everything turned out perfect for us today as far as the SEC standings are concerned. Now, what we have to do is not worry about anybody except Texas A&M. We need to take care of that last home game [On Thursday against Alabama]."
On Chennedy Carter's overall production this afternoon…
"She [Chennedy Carter] loves to share the ball, and she loves to get her teammates involved. She just tore apart their zone, whether it was on a ball-reversal or coming off screens and shooting the mid-range shot. She was just efficient. She was efficient when she scored 37 points, but today the game was just so effortless for her. It didn't even look like she was breaking a sweat out there."
On what Jasmine Williams means to the team…
"I knew that I wanted to play Jazz [Jasmine Williams] early, because it's like having a coach out there on the floor. She knows what the other team is doing and what we're doing. As you get further along in your career, efficiency happens. That's why she's getting to be so efficient with the basketball making decisions. That's where a senior should be. I'm just happy with all of the seniors. I knew I wanted to put her [Williams] in the game early no matter what the score was. [I wanted] to recognize the contributions she's made to this basketball team, both on and off the court, and what she's done at the Mays Business School."
Texas A&M Forward Cheah Rael-Whitsitt
On what the senior class gives to the team…
"I feel like we give energy, power, motivation and our all. Each one of us gives everything we have at every moment. Sham [Shambria Washington] on the court keeps us level-headed and mindful. Sharing the ball is an attribute that a lot of people don't have, and she has that. Jazz [Jasmine Williams] has spirit. Without her, I would have difficulty being spirited as well. I'm proud of our little class. I think we make a huge difference on and off the court."
Texas A&M Guard Jasmine Williams
On if the team is meeting her expectations…
"For sure. We are definitely on track to where we want to be going into the postseason. Pieces are starting to fall into place, and players are starting to realize their roles. We have our whole starting five back, and are firing on all cylinders. We got our bench ready to come in and fill a roll if need be. Our coaching staff is working diligently from here on out. I think this is a great place, and a great starting point to propel us into the postseason."
On what was working for her…
"Shots did fall, but whenever I come in I try to bring the same energy I have on the bench and try translate that over to the court. Most of the time it works."
Texas A&M Guard Shambria Washington
On the impact senior day had on their performance…
"I think it is important to play every game like it is your last, and give it all you have got day-in and day-out. Because you never know if it could be your last game on any given night. I think it is a blessing to have the opportunity to play at this level, so we can't take it for granted. We play as hard as we can, practice as hard as we can, and give back to the University for allowing us to play for them. Give back to our fans, our coaches and our teammates. Play hard for each other, and have each other's back. I think that's what we did tonight, regardless of if it was senior night or not. Our team came out and played extremely hard, considering it was senior night. They had our backs today, as always."
On what it is like when shots are falling…
"I think it's fun. We played as a team, and our energy was high. Jazz [Jasmine Williams] always brings energy to the table, so we try to match her energy. It's not easy, but we try. Everyone did shoot pretty well from the field. I think we shared the basketball, and we really played as a team. It was really fun. We had smiles throughout the whole game. At halftime, we were loose, we were happy and we came out and competed."
Team Stats
AUB
TA&M
FG%
.386
.578
3FG%
.320
.533
FT%
.667
.667
RB
21
43
TO
12
11
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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