Aggies Prepare to Unveil 'Gary Blair Court' vs. South Carolina
Gary Blair will coach his final regular-season home game for Texas A&M when the Aggies host No. 1 South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
It won’t just be Blair’s final home game as head coach. The Aggies will unveil the court at Reed Arena as ‘Gary Blair Court,’ which will feature his signature and name on the hardwood.
Blair will be just the third women’s basketball coach to have a home court named in their honor. The other two are Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and North Carolina State’s Kay Yow.
The Aggies unveiled a rendering of the court and presented it to Blair before the Aggies took on Ole Miss last week.
If only Blair’s and the Aggies’ (14-12, 4-10 in SEC) NCAA Tournament prospects looked better.
The Aggies enter Thursday’s game on a three-game losing streak, including their 81-79 double overtime loss to Alabama on Sunday. That may have been a gut punch to the Aggies’ hopes of reaching the tournament. Before the Alabama loss, the Aggies were one of the ‘First Four Out’ of the tournament, according to ESPN. When ESPN’s new 68-team field came out on Tuesday, the Aggies weren’t among the first eight teams out of the field.
The pre-game ceremony celebrating Blair’s long coaching career at Texas A&M, which includes a national title in 2011, might end up being the best part of the evening. The Gamecocks (25-1, 13-1) come to College Station fresh off a 67-53 dismantling of a banged-up Tennessee team and haven’t lost a game since Missouri upset them on Dec. 30.
The Aggies met South Carolina on Jan. 13, with Texas A&M losing, 65-45. That night, Texas A&M found itself at the mercy of forward Aliyah Boston, the leading candidate for national player of the year. She had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the game, and three other Gamecocks joined her in double figures — guard Destanni Henderson with 15 points, while guard Zia Cooke and forward Victaria Saxton each had 10.
Guard Qadashah Hoppie had 15 points that game, while guard Kayla Wells added 11. If the Aggies are going to overcome South Carolina on Thursday, Wells will have to be at the center of the scoring. In the last six games, Wells has averaged 17.8 points.
Wells had 15 points in the loss to Alabama, and four other Aggies were in double figures in scoring — Hoppie with a team-leading 16, while forward Aaliyah Patty and center Sydnee Roby each had 11 and guard Destiny Pitts added 10.
But the Crimson Tide overcame the Aggies with huge games from Brittany Davis, who had 32 points, and Megan Abrams, who had 26.
The Aggies now face the prospect of going into the SEC Tournament with a .500 record if they lose the final two games of conference play. After the Gamecocks, the Aggies travel to Georgia on Sunday for the season finale. The Bulldogs are ranked but they have lost four of their last five games heading into a Thursday contest against Arkansas.
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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.