WBB beats OKC 86-35

The Women’s Bouncy Ball team opened the season with an exhibition against the defending NAIA champion Oklahoma City Stars. The Stars coach is a glutton for punishment because they were playing their third game in less than a week and their second exhibition on consecutive days, having just lost to Texas in Austin on Sunday.

Last year the Ags trailed OCU in the 3rd quarter but rallied to win 75-65.

After trailing 7-2 early, the Ags took the lead and never looked back. Coach Blair was able to play the bench and experiment with different lineups. Jr Danni Williams led all scorers with 18 points. Sr Khaalia Hillsman added 16 in just 17 minutes.

The big question going into the season is how the Ags will do after losing Curtyce Knox to graduation. Knox led the nation in assists last year and had the A&M single season record. True freshman Chennedy (pronounced Kennedy) Carter comes in as one of the highest rated recruits ever and off of a stellar performance on the U19 USA national team this summer, where she broke the single game scoring record held by S. Carolina's A'Ja Wilson in a losing effort in the finals vs Russia. Carter had 31 in that game and played outstanding ball in the other games as well. On Monday night in her A&M debut, Carter had 15 points in 22 minutes. She had 7 assists and no turnovers and added a steal. She also showed speed and finishing ability around the basket. She's going to be a lot of fun to watch.

The Ags now have multiple backups for Hillsman in 6-3 RS JC Transfer Caylinne Martin and 6-5 Fr Emer Nichols. Two other freshmen were singled out for praise by Coach Blair: Kayla Wells had 12 points and N'Dea Jones added 8.

The talent off the bench means the Ags should return to the more aggressive defensive style our fans love. On monday night A&M forced 31 turnovers and had 17 steals, along with several 5 second calls and shot clock violations.

Up Next

• Univ of Houston Cougars
• Round 1 of the Preseason WNIT
• Reed Arena
• Friday Nov 10, 2017 7PM CST
• Streaming: SECN+, Radio: 105.7 FM

Houston finished 12-19 last season. They tried a lot of different starters. Four players who started their last AAC tourney game return, but they lose their starting center to graduation. I haven't seen UH, but their roster and stats suggest a smaller team that shoots 3s.

Friday’s game will overlap with your SEC champion Texas Aggie Soccer team hosting round 1 of the NCAA tourney at Ellis field. So if you can’t go to Reed, go yell for the soccer team.