Patty Leads Women’s Basketball Over UTSA, 77-51

Monday, December 20

Bryan-College Station

2:00 PM

Texas A&M

10-2,0-0SEC

UTSA

-38,00 CUSA

UTSA

Texas A&M

Photo by: Kate Luffman/Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 20, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Neomi Brown, Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas –The Texas A&M women's basketball team defeated UTSA, 77-51, Monday afternoon inside Reed Arena behind Aaliyah Patty's career performance.

Patty led the Aggies (10-2), tying a career high with a team-best 20 points while shooting 47.3% from the field. Adding to her stat line, the West Chester, Illinois, native recorded career highs in blocks (five) and rebounds (18).

Destiny Pitts and Qadashah Hoppie also made their mark on the scoreboard, registering 14 and 13 points, respectively. Sydnee Roby locked in a career-high four blocks, while pouring in nine points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Nine different players scored for Texas A&M, shooting 44.3% as a team while the Roadrunners (3-8) went 20-for-67 (29.9%) from the field. The Aggies controlled the game physically, leading UTSA in rebounds (51-42), points in the paint (38-20) and blocks (14-4).

Bolstered by a ten-point flurry from Patty, the Aggies got out to an early lead of 16-2 with 3:56 left in the first period. Texas A&M sustained its advantage and went into the second period with a score of 22-8. The Maroon & White continued its offensive attack, outscoring the Roadrunners 10-6 and leading 32-14 with 4:42 left in the first half. The final minutes of the second period were closely contested between both teams, but the Aggies maintained a 44-22 advantage going into halftime.

During third period, UTSA came alive offensively, but the Aggies retained their 50-33 lead with 4:40 left. The Maroon & White ended the third quarter on a 7-0 scoring run, affording it a 58-44 advantage going into the final period of play. A&M would dominate the fourth quarter, only allowing seven points to the Roadrunners and ultimately winning by a score of 77-51.

UP NEXT
The Texas A&M women's basketball team faces Vanderbilt in the first conference matchup of the season on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. inside Reed Arena.

POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M climbs to 10-2 overall while UTSA drops to 3-8.
A&M extends its win streak against non-power five opponents to 25-consecutive victories dating back to the team's last mid-major loss against Lamar on Nov. 29, 2018
The Maroon & White now lead the Roadrunners 11-4 in the all-time series. The two squads last met in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when the Aggies notched a 91-52 win.

TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M held its opponent below 30% shooting from the field for the fourth time this season. The Aggies are 4-0 in those games.
On the glass, the Aggies ran up a 51-42 margin, including a 36-29 edge on the defensive boards. The Maroon & White is 10-0 when it wins the rebounding battle.
A&M capitalized on paint touches, booking 38 points in the paint compared to UTSA's 20.
Ball movement was key to A&M's success, as the Aggies owned an 18-8 advantage in assists.
The nation's best 3-point shooting team shot 41.7% from deep. The Aggies are now 7-0 when shooting over 40% from 3-point land.
Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Qadashah Hoppie, Destiny Pitts, McKinzie Green, Aaliyah Patty and Sydnee Roby for the first time this season (1-0).
A&M has utilized eight different starting lineup combinations in 2021-22.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Aaliyah Patty dominated on Monday afternoon, setting a new career high in rebounds with 18 while tying her career high in scoring with 20 points.
Patty's rebounding total was the most by an Aggie in a single game since Ciera Johnson hauled in 18 boards against Lamar on Nov. 25, 2020.
Her effort against the Roadrunners marks her second double-double of the season.
The West Chester, Illinois, native added a career high in blocks, swatting five shots in 32 minutes played. This is the most blocks for an Aggie since Ciera Johnson amassed six at Alabama on Jan. 23, 2020.
Destiny Pitts amassed 14 points, her ninth double-digit scoring effort of the season. The Detroit, Michigan, native added a season-best two blocks.
Sydnee Roby was a force defensively, logging a career-best four blocks. Her previous career high of three was last set in A&M's most recent matchup with the Texas Longhorns.
McKinzie Green paced the A&M passing attack, setting a new career high in assists with six in 26 minutes of action.
Eriny Kindred scored her first collegiate baskets, finishing with four points to go along with two rebounds and an assist.
Texas A&M won its first game without Kayla Wells in the lineup since Mar. 2, 2018. The Aggies defeated the LSU Tigers, 75-69, in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Women's Basketball Hall-of-Famer Gary Blair climbs to 848-335 in his career with a 440-172 record at Texas A&M.
Blair secured his first win against Karen Aston, improving to 1-2 against the Roadrunners' skipper.

POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head Coach Gary Blair
On getting multiple players significant playing time…
"We knew that we had the size on this team. What we wanted to accomplish was the K-I-S method: keep it simple. I thought our kids did fairly well in the first half. We got out to a 16-2 lead, and we knew that win or lose, we were going to play a lot of our kids. I thought our second unit came in and did a pretty good job. We were able to get 11 kids in for significant playing time. With that being said, we have to learn how to play harder. We gave up too many offensive boards, and a lot of that was because we were just jumping up and down instead of making basketball moves to block people out. We have to do a better job. We can't just be taller or more skilled. That's not good enough, because we are about to face SEC competition."

On the team's preparedness for its SEC opener on Dec. 30 against Vanderbilt…
"I think that our team is in a pretty good spot. Our team only turned it over nine times today, and that says a lot about the play from our backcourt. We weren't necessarily taking the best shots, but even when we are at full strength, we don't always take the best shots. We have to get the easy put backs, make better passes, and improve our reads. The best thing we did today was not overshooting the three. Too many teams are concerned with shooting a lot of threes, and so instead of being satisfied with 5-for-12, they end up shooting 7-for-20. I want inside, outside, mid-range and fast breaks. I want the whole package offensively, and we will continue to work on that before we start SEC play."

Senior forward Aaliyah Patty
On her performance…
"I guess it was just a good day for me. I was just trying to do whatever I could offensively and defensively. My shots were falling for me today."

On adjusting without two starters…
"We lost those two, but as a team, we knew we needed to step up and fill those spots really quick. Things like this are going to happen throughout the season, so we just take it as an opportunity to get better."

Sophomore guard Sahara Jones
On upcoming SEC play…
"I do feel like we're ready, we're always ready to compete. We come on the floor every day getting ready for SEC play, we know it's going to be tough and physical, but we're always prepared."

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