COLLEGE STATION- No. 22 Texas A&M fell 92-64 to No. 5 Mississippi State in a women’s basketball game at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M (19-6, 8-4 SEC) stormed out of the gates, as Chennedy Carter had 16 of her 28 points in the first quarter, jumping out to a 24-20 lead after a frame. Mississippi State only led 43-36 at halftime, but extended their lead by making their first four 3-pointers in the second half.
In addition to Carter, who had 20+ points for the seventh time in the last eight games, Kayla Wellls added 13 and Shambria Washington chipped in 10. Carter tied a Texas A&M record with her 32nd consecutive game of scoring 10+ points.
Mississippi State (23-2, 11-1 SEC) was led by a 3-point barrage from Andra Espinoza-Hunter, who had 24 points on 7-of-9 3-point shooting.
The Aggies conclude this three-game homestand with Tennessee Thursday, February 21 at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
NOTES
Texas A&M
Texas A&M is 19-6 on the season and 8-4 in SEC play, while Mississippi State improves to 23-2 and 11-1 in SEC play
Texas A&M is 11-3 at home this season
The Aggies are 2-3 against ranked opponents this season
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 375-157 in 16 seasons in Aggieland. He is 783-320 in his Hall of Fame career, which ranks seventh among active coaches in career wins
Chennedy Carter
Scored 20+ points for the seventh time in eight games and the 16th time this season. She extends her school record with her 40th career game of 20+ points
Had 20 points in the first half, marking her third 20+ point first half of the season. She had 24 against then-No. 8 Oregon State and 20 against Missouri.
Ties Danielle Adams’ (2010-11) Texas A&M record with 32 consecutive games of scoring at least 10 points
Carter has 57 games of at least 10+ points in 58 career games. She scored eight in the other game
Picked up her fifth foul with 5:41 to play
Kayla Wells
Scored 10+ points for the eighth straight game and the 20th time this season
Shambria Washington
Scored 10+ points for the fourth time this season
N’dea Jones
Had 10+ rebounds for the fourth straight game and the 16th time this season
QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
“I thought we were very ready to play this ball game. I thought you could see how well we played in the first quarter and we were doing things. We got them into a little foul trouble which I thought we could. Every point counts in a ball game. Second quarter has been our Achilles’ Heel. We also caught them after coming back from a home loss and now Tennessee is going to catch us with a home loss. It will just be up to how we respond. Mississippi State responded how they should have. I think they are one of the top four team in the country. Our turnovers were 17 by the starting three guards. We have got to do a better job of taking over. We have not done a good job all year rebounding with our guards. That is a lot of pressure on Ciera and N’dea to continuously take care of the boards against a top five team.”
On difference in 1st quarter from last three quarters …
“Chennedy has some good shots in the first quarter. Mississippi State is known for defense-first, offense-second. That seemed to be reversed today. Their offense seemed better than their defense, but they are good on both fronts. I think a lot of it was some missed free throws. We had a couple of fast break opportunities that would have given us momentum. We continuously have to work on half-court for the perfect pass for Chennedy to go off. We need to have balance in there.”
Texas A&M Guard Shambria Washington
On not being able to keep momentum in last three quarters…
“We lost it in the third quarter defensively. It just wasn’t working. We were going back-and-forth trying to trade buckets. We gave them momentum and they are a great team, and they took advantage of the third quarter.”
On Espinoza- Hunter being a tough match up…
“Communication. We couldn’t find her. We talked about it all week in practice. That is all on me because I am at the top of the key. Just communicating better on where the shooter is and what defense we are in.”
Texas A&M Center Ciera Johnson
On getting more touches inside…
“They have a 6’ 7” post player. Their goal was to get her at the paint and work N’dea in this inside.”
Mississippi State Head Coach Vic Schaefer
Opening statement…
“Obviously, extremely proud of my team today, I couldn’t ask more of them. I think they responded today after not playing well on Thursday and having a team not play well. We talked about, it’s how you respond when things like that happen. I told them that everyone would be paying attention today to see how they responded. You are playing a Top 25 team on the road, well-coached and probably as hot as any team in the league. They won eight of their last nine, they needed to come in and play well. It’s a good win on the road against a really good team.”
Mississippi State Guard Andra Espinoza-Hunter
On making three threes in a row…
“It definitely goes to my teammates. Like I said at the LSU game, their confidence in myself and coach’s confidence, it helps my confidence a lot. There are times when I miss a shot and I will put my head down, I look at Jazzmun [Holmes] or Anriel Howard and they will say ‘you got it, your good’ and give me that little boost. So really I thank them, because their confidence in me helps my confidence a lot.”
Mississippi State Forward Anriel Howard
On coming back in the second half…
“It was a refocus, I had a couple turnovers from trying to force shots. I was trying my counter-moves but I didn’t have my feet right, I kept traveling. So coach took me out, and wanted me to regroup in the second half. And I got together took a breath and just let the game come to me.”
