Texas A&M won’t look past Bama
Make no mistake, Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair is focused intently on the Aggies’ game at Alabama tonight.
That’s the next game up, although there’s already quite a bit of talk about the Aggies (20-1, 11-1 SEC) hosting No. 5 South Carolina at Reed Arena in College Station on Sunday with the regular-season conference title possibly hanging in the balance.
Blair points out his team has other business.
“We’re playing for a championship [tonight],” Blair said on his radio show earlier this week about the Alabama game. “Last year we lost our last two games of the year. Guess who they were against — Alabama and South Carolina.
“We’re gonna be ready for Alabama. That’s all I care about right now.”
Texas A&M has won eight in a row and moved up two spots to No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press poll. They also received one first-place vote. That’s the highest the Aggies have been ranked since they were No. 3 for three weeks in 2008.
Blair is OK with his team’s ranking.
“I can live with that,” he said. “Our kids have worked hard. I know it’s hard right now deciding who’s number one, number 2, 3, 4, 5 all the way through about the top 20 because all of us are capable on a good day. And hopefully, we have a couple more good days left in front of us.”
Texas A&M boasts an 8-0 record vs. ranked opponents and is tied for the most overall wins (20) in the country with No. 6 Louisville and No. 4 Stanford. The Aggies are the highest-ranked team in the SEC for the first time since Nov. 11, 2019.
South Carolina has won seven straight against the Aggies. The last time Texas A&M defeated South Carolina was a 67-65 victory in overtime in College Station, Texas, on Jan. 16, 2014.
1,000-point club
Texas A&M senior Ciera Johnson on Sunday became the 33rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
Her free throw in the fourth quarter put her right at 1,000. Johnson, who averages 10.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, finished with 5 points and 6 rebounds in the Aggies’ 66-55 win over Ole Miss.
Mizzou gets hot
Missouri matched a program record with 18 three-pointers in a 96-80 win over Florida over the weekend.
That total matched a school record. It’s the third time Missouri made 18 three-pointers in a game, doing it on Jan. 16, 2013, vs. Auburn and on Dec. 8, 2013, vs. Bradley.
Missouri made 18 of 28 threes, including 10 of 15 in the first half, as the Tigers led 45-30 after two quarters against the Gators.
Hayley Frank made 6 of 8 three-pointers, while Shannon Dufficy hit 5 of 7.
Shug Dickson (20), Frank (26) and Aijha Blackwell (21) each scored 20 or more points. It marks the first time three Tigers scored 20 or more in the same game since Nov. 29, 2008, when they did it in a three-overtime game. The last time that happened in regulation was Jan. 6, 1995.
Thompson sets mark
Auburn senior Unique Thompson grabbed 14 rebounds in the Tigers’ 81-68 loss to Mississippi State on Tuesday, which made her the all-time leading rebounder in school history.
The All-SEC performer grabbed a rebound with 5:28 left in the third quarter to move her past Becky Jackson with 1,119. She is now five ahead of Jackson with two regular-season games remaining.
Bulldogs snap skid
Mississippi State wiped out a six-point halftime deficit to stop a five-game losing streak with an 81-68 victory over Auburn on Tuesday night.
Auburn, which is winless in the SEC, led by as many as 10 in the first half, but Mississippi State used a big third quarter to take control.
It was Mississippi State’s first win in more than a month. The last win was a 60-56 victory over Ole Miss in Starkville on Jan. 10. The Bulldogs (9-7, 4-6) dealt with covid-19 issues by other teams that forced postponements along with wintry weather.
After trailing 42-36 at halftime, Mississippi State outscored Auburn 21-8 to take control. The Bulldogs also committed just three turnovers in the final two quarters after having 12 in the first half.
Rickea Jackson and Jessika Carter combined for 37 points and 17 rebounds for Mississippi State. Jackson led the way with a teamhigh 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 9 rebounds.
Top players
Tennessee’s Rennia Davis averaged 23 points, 9 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 assist to earn SEC Player of the Week honors. Florida’s Jordyn Merritt claimed Freshman of the Week honors.
Davis scored a game-high 24 points and recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 12 rebounds as the Lady Vols defeated South Carolina 75-67. The victory snapped a 31-game SEC winning streak by South Carolina. The double-double tied Davis for fourth all-time in school history
Merritt scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Missouri. She averaged 7.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the week.