Aggies get all they can handle in first round
Texas A&M celebrated a milestone with its first SEC regular-season title this year, but a surprising loss in the conference tournament semifinals and a perceived seeding snub had the Aggies a smidge angry entering the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re all kind of playing with a chip on our shoulder,” A&M senior forward N’dea Jones said in the days leading to the postseason counting most. “Especially after the bracket came out.”
The second-seeded Aggies tried taking out their frustrations on 15th-seeded Troy, but the upsetminded Trojans made the outcome more exhilarating than the Aggies had counted on Monday in their NCAA first-round opener in Austin’s Erwin Center.
A&M edged Troy 84-80 to finally exhale and move on to the second round. A&M’S Aaliyah Wilson’s driving layup with 1:11 remaining shoved the Aggies to a 79-77 lead, and A&M drew a charge on Troy’s ensuing possession. A&M’S Destiny Pitts later coolly
sank two free throws to lift the Aggies to an 82-78 lead with 6.6 seconds remaining.
The Aggies advance to take on seventh-seeded Iowa State on Wednesday in San Antonio. The Trojans nearly became the first No. 15 seed to defeat the No. 2 seed in NCAA women's tournament history.
The Cyclones defeated 10thseeded Michigan State 79-75 in the Alamodome at the same time the Aggies were barely taking care of first-round business in Austin. A&M and Iowa State are former Big 12 foes — the Aggies exited the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012 — and Aggies coach Gary Blair and Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly are longtime friends.
The NCAA Tournament played its opening round in San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The round of 32 will be held in three venues in San Antonio. The Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four all will be conducted in the Alamodome.
Following their first SEC regular-season title, the Aggies expected to be one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. They were named a No. 2 seed by the tournament selection committee for the fifth time, however, following a 74-68 loss to Georgia in the SEC tournament semifinals.
Although they had their troubles late against the high-octane Trojans, overall the Aggies cobbled together a decent 40 minutes against Troy (22-6) in their pursuit of a second national title. A&M won the school's lone championship in the sport 10 years ago in Indianapolis and with five more victories will win another only 170 miles from Reed Arena in College Station.
A&M (24-2) on Monday burst to a 49-35 halftime lead thanks in large part to two players, Jones and Jordan Nixon, scoring 10 points each in the first 20 minutes. The Aggies pride themselves on their defense under assistant coach Bob Starkey, and the Trojans missed 11 of their 12 3-point attempts in the first half, often with A&M players in their faces.
Troy, the Sun Belt Conference champion, fought back into the contest and closed the gap to 5752 with a little more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Appropriately stirred, the Aggies scored the next five points to again build a double-digit lead — but it was far from over at that point.
The Aggies are trying to show they can go deep in the tournament without former star Chennedy Carter, who a year ago chose to bypass her senior season for the WNBA draft. The Atlanta Dream selected Carter fourth overall, the highest pick in A&M history, and the Aggies have pressed on without her 23 points per game.
A&M featured a balanced offensive attack in the regular season, entering the NCAA Tournament with five players averaging in double digits, but none more than 12.6 points per game. That approach carried over into the tournament opener, as four players scored in double figures, with Nixon pacing the team with 21 points.