Texas A&M Women's Basketball Continues Fast Start After Defeating Georgia Tech

The Aggies advanced to 6-1 on the season after a dominant showing against Georgia Tech during the ACC/SEC challenge. A big part of both the offense and the defense was graduate forward Lauren Ware, who ended the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Heading into the game, Georgia Tech was dominant in the ACC for its rebounding statistics, yet the Aggies won the rebound game by grabbing 45 compared to the Yellowjackets' 40.

"Obviously, they lead their league in rebounds, so that was one of our keys to win," Ware said postgame. "The scout was to win the rebound battle and we did that; we knew that would put us in a good position to win."

Defensive Surge Led A&M To A Win

Texas A&M Lauren War — Mar 8, 2024; Greensville, SC, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Lauren Ware (32) tries to block a shot by South Carolina Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso (10) during the first half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

While Ware led the team in rebounds with 13, there was six other Aggies who also picked up rebounds. Fatsmata Janneh picked up 10 rebounds for A&M, as well as many of the Aggie guards who stepped in on defense in the second half.

"Fats did a great job too on the boards," Ware said. "Our guards did a good job of boxing out, getting touches. I think we had a stream where we had like five, six offensive rebounds in one play at the end of that game."

Winning the rebound game is something that can excel this A&M team to victory, given the fact that it was able to pick up six offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, compared to Georgia Tech's 2. The Aggies got more aggressive on the boards from the first half to the second as they were able to pick up 22 rebounds in the second half compared to 18 in the first.

"That's just being relentless because rebounding doesn't take any skill," Ware said. "That's just effort, so I think we did a good job of that."

With almost an entirely new team, the Aggies are 6-1 and have posted one of their best starts since Joni Taylor took over the program. Being 6-1 with a ton of new faces is refreshing for the Aggies, especially after a rough 10-19 outing last season.

"I think overall our team is just you know we're playing well together," Pryor said. "We still have some things we need to work on of course, but I think overall we're playing very well, and I think we share the ball very well as well."