Aggie Women Out to Preserve Top 25 Ranking vs. Tennessee

The No. 25 Texas A&M women will face No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday in an attempt to preserve its Top 25 ranking and win its first Southeastern Conference game.

The Aggies (10-3, 0-1 in SEC) and Tennessee (13-1, 2-0) tip off at 5:30 p.m.

The Aggies are coming off a 75-66 loss to LSU on Jan. 2, one that saw the Aggies lose a small lead in the fourth quarter. Up 49-46 after three quarters, the Tigers ran away with the game by outscoring Texas A&M 29-17 in the final 10 minutes.

Texas A&M could have been shaking some rust off. The Aggies have played just three games since Dec. 12 — a loss at TCU on Dec. 12, a Dec. 20 win over UTSA and the loss to LSU. In between, the Aggies lost a non-conference game with Rice on Dec. 19 and saw their expected SEC opener against Vanderbilt on Dec. 30 postponed due to COVID-19.

So, the defending SEC regular-season champion Aggies need some help to avoid an 0-2 start in conference action.

That could start with better shooting. The Aggies shot 32.9 percent against LSU, with guard Destiny Pitts scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She also connected on four 3-pointers.

Guard Qadashah Hoppie scored 16 points, while guard Kayla Wells added 13 points.

Wells is the Aggies’ leading scorer, averaging 17.1 points per game. Pitts is tied for the most made 3-pointers on the team with Jordan Nixon. Pitts averages 11.4 points per game and Nixon averages 13.9 points per game.

Inside, Aaliyah Patty leads the Aggies with 7.1 rebounds per game and also averages 5.3 points per game. While the Aggies have a healthy rebounding edge on their opponents this season, they’re a minus-10 on the offensive glass.

While the Aggies are built around the backcourt, the Lady Volunteers are built around their frontcourt. Jordan Horston and Tamari Key both average 9.2 rebounds per game, with Horston averaging 14.8 points per game and Key averaging 10.9 points per game. Alexus Dye averages 10.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The Lady Vols have outrebounded opponents by more than 200, and by 81 on the offensive glass.

In their 70-63 win over Arkansas on Jan. 2, five different Lady Vols had at least 10 points, led by Key’s 17 points. Dye had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Thursday will be the last regular-season meeting between Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who is retiring at the end of this season, and Tennessee.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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