Aggies earn first SEC regular-season title
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M’S players kept themselves from coming together during the past five months, and a result was the women’s first Southeastern Conference regular-season title.
“We did a good job of staying in our bubble,” A&M forward N’dea Jones said of steering clear of the COVID-19 virus during the regular season. “We turned down a lot of activities. Some of us don’t even go out to eat. We get food delivered.”
A&M in turn delivered a league regular-season title for the first time since 2007 when the Aggies competed in the Big 12. No. 3 A&M dashed past No. 5 South Carolina 65-57 on Sunday afternoon in Reed Arena.
The Gamecocks, who won a national title in 2017 and were ranked No. 1 for a chunk of this season, would have won the regular season with a victory.
“We really wanted this,” A&M coach Gary Blair said. “Tournament championships are great, but the body of work that you have to have during the regular season is so important.”
The Aggies (22-1, 13-1 SEC) led by 15 points in the second half before the Gamecocks (19-4, 13-2) made a game of it late. A layup by A&M’S Aaliyah Wilson with 1:15 remaining lifted the Aggies to a 62-57 lead and shoved the game out of reach.
“(The Gamecocks) fought their way back and got it to a one-possession game, and I love their fight,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and love a ‘moral’ victory – that’s not who we are.”
While the A&M women’s basketball team did not miss a game this season because of COVID-19 concerns within the program, the A&M men did not play in February because of multiple positive COVID-19 cases on the team. Wilson on Sunday led the Aggies with 17 points, and fellow senior Jones
added 16 for the SEC champs.
“They played as strong as they’ve played all season long,” Staley said of the Aggies. “We got beat by a really good basketball team.”
The Aggies, practically assured of a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, next take part in the SEC tournament in Greenville, S.C., as the No. 1 seed. A&M will play at 10 a.m. Friday in the quarterfinals against a to-be-determined opponent.
“Now it’s up to us to throw this season away and start all over in the SEC tournament and the NCAA Tournament,” Blair said.
The San Antonio area is hosting the NCAA women’s tournament in its entirety because of the pandemic, meaning A&M has a chance of winning its second national title only 170 miles from campus.
“We’re just fixing to start the next season,” said Blair, claiming that any number of teams could win a national championship this season based on parity across the country.
“Don’t look ahead to the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight,” he added, “because somebody will kick you in the butt.”
The Aggies won a national title a decade ago under Blair, and a year later exited the Big 12 and entered the SEC. This year’s squad is similar in relying on a cast of characters to consistently win games.
“Everybody on the team has something they’re good at,” Wilson said. “Every player brings something to the table — from one to 15.”
That was the case Sunday, with four players scoring in double digits, guard Jordan Nixon leading the way with five assists, and reserve
Anna Dreimane contributing two key second-half blocks to help seal a 10th consecutive victory for the Aggies.
“It’s not always pretty,” Wilson said, “but we find a way.”
A&M has not lost a game in regulation this season. The Aggies’ lone setback occurred on Jan. 14 at LSU, a 65-61 loss in overtime. A&M got its revenge on the Tigers 54-41 three weeks later in Reed Arena.
The Aggies are doing it all without their most prolific offensive player in program history.
A year ago, following the canceling of the remainder of the season because of the pandemic, star guard Chennedy Carter opted to bypass her senior season for the WNBA draft.
“We had a great player in Chennedy Carter who everybody had to scheme for, and when this year started nobody gave us as much credit as a team that you had to scheme for,” Blair said. “All we are is just a basketball team. We don’t have somebody who can go out there and score (23) points per game for us.
“We check our egos at the door — and that’s every one of us.”