Surging Aggies set sights on crowns
First SEC regular-season championship and first national title in 10 years well within reach for a deep and balanced roster
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M guard Aaliyah Wilson did not mask her disappointment following the Aggies’ game at Alabama on Thursday.
“We’ll get in the film room and figure out what we did wrong, and hopefully make those changes and be ready for South Carolina on Sunday,” Wilson said.
Had the third-ranked Aggies overlooked the unranked Crimson Tide for their showdown with the fifth-ranked Gamecocks? Hardly. In another sign of likely good things still to come for surging and unsatisfied A&M this season, Wilson’s displeasure stemmed from Alabama simply tightening the gap late in the Aggies’ 73-67 victory.
A&M in late February is a threat to win a second national title, a decade removed from its first, based on the Aggies taking care of business 96 percent of the time so far this season, whether it’s against Alabama or eight ranked foes.
“We had to win,” A&M coach Gary Blair said of the Aggies’ victory on the road against the Crimson Tide, “to make Sunday’s game meaningful. And it’s always meaningful anytime you play South Carolina.”
Especially on Sunday. The Aggies (21-1, 12-1 SEC) are angling for their first SEC regular-season championship in their ninth year in the league. The Gamecocks (19-3, 14-1) are aiming to snuff out the Aggies’ title aspirations and win a title of their own.
“The two best teams (in the SEC) are going to be playing Sunday afternoon,
and it’s going to be a treat,” Blair said of the 1 p.m. tipoff in Reed Arena. “I’d like to play Sunday afternoon, and then I’d like to play the next Sunday afternoon.”
The latter is when the SEC tournament title game is scheduled to take place in Greenville, S.C. That pleasant travel destination is not the one most on Blair’s mind these days, however, it’s one about 170 miles from Reed Arena.
The San Antonio area is
hosting the NCAA women’s tournament in its entirety because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and A&M’s strong play of late has Blair even referencing the NBA affiliate in South Texas.
“This is who they are,” Blair said of the Aggies’ unselfishness in stringing together victories. “You go back to the old days when the Spurs shared the ball so much in their championship runs.”
A year ago, after the season
was canceled heading into the NCAA tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic, A&M star guard Chennedy Carter opted to bypass her senior season and turn pro. The Atlanta Dream selected Carter No. 4 overall, A&M’s highest basketball draft selection in history, and she averaged 17.4 points per game in her rookie season.
The Aggies have not missed her 23 points per game she averaged as a collegian,
however, because of a deep, balanced roster. For example, five players scored in double digits in the win at Alabama.
“Why do we have to have 20- to 30-point scorers, and know who it’s going to be?” asked Blair, in already knowing the answer. “I’m so proud of this team, despite all the (TV) commentators in the world saying, ‘Yeah, they’re a (top seed) right now, but they haven’t faced the big dogs …’ We’ve
faced the SEC, and we’ve done very well.
“Our kids just take care of business. They do not get too high or low, and we’ve got a lot of basketball left in us.”
The Aggies’ lone loss occurred Jan. 14 at LSU, 65-61 in overtime. A&M avenged that loss three weeks later 54-41 in Reed Arena. Wilson leads A&M with 13 points per game, and she is one of eight transfers on the 15-woman roster. Four players average double figures in scoring.
“We’re veterans, and we know what to do down the stretch in order to win a game,” A&M senior guard Kayla Wells said. “And we’re not done yet — we haven’t won anything yet. We have (six) seniors, and we know how to win games. We make key plays at the end of games and do the little things when they count the most.”
And that timeframe, according to Blair and Wells, is a game’s full 40 minutes.
“It’s a lot of fun sharing the ball, and seeing your teammates do well,” Wells said. “You don’t have a load on one person. That’s super important, that there’s no pressure on anybody’s back to go out there and score 30 points a game — it could be anybody.”