WBB: 20-0 run lifts the Ags over PVAMU

There was a pregame buzz in the crowd at Reed as the Ags took the court for warmups. After missing the first four games while suspended for a violation of team and athletic dept rules, Courtney Williams was on the floor warming up! Although Williams had been practicing with the team and Coach Bond said afterward that she's been the best player in practice, CWill started the game on the bench as Coach Blair went with a lineup of Jada Terry, Achiri Ade, Tori Scott, Courtney Walker, and Jordan Jones.  JJ drew the initial defensive assignment of guarding PVAMU's leading scorer, 5-7 Sr G Jeannette Jackson. This was Jackson's third game at Reed and she showed she wasn't intimidated by hitting her first three shots, all from behind the arc, to give the Panthers an 11-9 lead at the first TV timeout. The Panthers continued to hang with the Ags until the score was tied at 19 with 5:08 to go in the first half. The Ags ended the first period with a 10-0 run.

The Ags picked up where they left off by scoring the first 10 points of the second half. From there, Prairie View played A&M even in the final 16:24 of the game, actually outscoring the Ags 22-20 . Jackson scored the final bucket to lead all scorers with 24 points. She also played a long time in foul trouble without fouling out. But of course, by then it was too little, too late and Coach was getting minutes for almost everyone. 11/13 Ags who saw the floor scored.

• Courtney Walker "only" got 10 points (4/8 from the field, 2/2 from the line), 6 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals. She only had 1 turnover and played 31 minutes. That means she got more rest on Monday night than she got in 3 games in Chicago.
• Jada Terry had her best game as an Ag. She started and had a career-high 8 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes. Coach Bond called her the most consistent of the 3 posts.
• Courtney Williams played 18 minutes off the bench (13 in the first half, 5 in the second). She made her presence felt most on the boards, leading the team with 7 rebounds, all before the break. I thought she got deflections on several other rebounds as well and played well for her first game back.
• Jordan Jones had a very uneven game. One moment she would do something spectacular and the next she would make a bad turnover.  JJ finished with 6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers. Some were great passes that were too hot for our young posts, but her last one was an attempt to thread a bounce pass up the floor when she could have just walked the ball up.
• Khaalia Hillsman had a relatively rough night. She had 6 rebounds, but was scoreless (0/3, 0/2) as she had trouble finishing around the basket.  But she still had those aggressive rebounds and good presence in the paint in just 11 minuts. She picked up a technical in the second half that looked pretty marginal on the replay in Reed.
• Rachel Mitchell had a nice game with 5 points, 2 boards, and 2 blocks in 11 minutes. Rachel was playing stronger underneath and intimidating players in the lane. In the post-game she talked about needing to slow down and take her time on her shot.  Coach has talked about how his 3-headed post has been getting comparable production to what he got last year: together the 3 had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
• Chelsea Jennings had a nice game: 7 points, 2 assists, steals, and rebounds in 7 energetic minutes off the bench.
• After the Rice game, Coach Blair was unhappy with the press D. Against PVAMU, the Ags did better, forcing 23 turnovers and swiping the ball 13 times. At one point in the second half, JJ and Taylor Cooper stole the ball on consecutive PVAMU possessions, getting breakaway layups both times. The Ags got 27 points off turnovers and 12 points on fast breaks. Unfortunately the Ags turned it over 19 times.

Up Next:

• McNeese State
• Wed Nov 26 7PM. Something to do before Midnight Yell.
• Reed Arena