Aggie Women Lose to Missouri's 3-Point Barrage

Gary Blair and Texas A&M head into a week-long break looking for answers to a month-long slump that threatens their NCAA hopes

The Texas A&M Aggies have a week off. Head coach Gary Blair and his team will have plenty to think about after Sunday’s 78-69 loss to Missouri.

The Aggies (11-8, 1-6 in SEC) were unable to shake the slump that has overwhelmed them, as they have now lost seven of their last nine games, with their only SEC win coming over Auburn.

Texas A&M’s numbers looked better on Sunday. The Aggies shot 50 percent from the floor. They had four players in double figures, led by Kayla Wells with 14 points. Destiny Pitts and Jordan Nixon each grabbed six rebounds. The Aggies had a scoring edge in the paint, 30-18. Texas A&M even scored more points off turnovers than Missouri, 16-14.

So what happened? The Tigers (15-5, 4-3) beat the Aggies at their own game — the 3-point shot.

The Aggies have built a reputation as one of the SEC’s top 3-point shooting teams, and as a group they had a good game, making nine 3-pointers and shooting nearly 40 percent from distance. The problem was that Missouri basically doubled that effort, connecting on 16 3-pointers and shooting 48 percent from the arc.

Hayley Frank led the charge. She scored 28 points for the Tigers and made seven 3-pointers. Lauren Hansen hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points. Aijha Blackwell had 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. She even hit a 3-pointer.

Still, it was a close game at halftime, with Texas A&M up 31-29. But as the Tigers shot better from distance, their lead grew. Missouri hit 10 of those 3-pointers in the second half.

Sydnee Roby scored 13 points for Texas A&M, while Pitts scored 13 and Qadashah Hoppie added 11 points.

If Blair and his team were tense before tip-off, it didn’t show during morning shootaround. In a quiet moment, Texas A&M’s social media team caught some video of Blair teaching Destiny Pitts some dance moves.

It was a packed day of SEC women’s action on Sunday, with No. 5 Tennessee beating No. 13 Georgia, 63-55. Florida upset No. 11 LSU, 73-72, while Ole Miss rolled past No. 23 Kentucky, 63-54. Alabama beat Auburn, 75-68, in a basketball version of the ‘Iron Bowl,’ and Arkansas overwhelmed Mississippi State, 74-54.

Texas A&M is off for the next seven days before traveling to Mississippi State on Jan. 30.

---

Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the All Aggies message board community today!

Follow AllAggies.com on Facebook and Twitter!

Want More Aggies News? Check Out The Latest In Texas A&M News Here

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.