Robert Cessna
The Texas A&M women's basketball players don't know what they'll be getting for Christmas, but they could give head coach Joni Taylor an early gift by having a season low in turnovers in Thursday's game against Mississippi Valley State.
The 1 p.m. tipoff at Reed Arena will be the last tune-up for A&M (6-5) before opening Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 2. The Aggies need to address several things on offense, including ballhandling. A&M averages 17.6 turnovers per game, which ties Omaha for 225th among the nation's 353 teams. The only SEC teams which average more turnovers are Oklahoma (17.8, 239th) and Georgia (17.9, 242nd).
The Aggies are coming off an 85-60 victory over Texas Southern on Monday night. It was one of the team's better offensive efforts with six players scoring in double figures with the Aggies making 32 of 61 field goals (52.5%). But A&M also had a season-high 23 turnovers. It was A&M's fourth game with at least 20 turnovers.
People are also reading... Texas A&M men's basketball forward Andersson Garcia receives college degree Texas A&M to be part of Netflix's docuseries on 2024 SEC football season Mike Elko, Texas A&M players explain their pitch to transfer portal prospects Micah Hudson's HS coach shares what Texas Tech transfer WR brings to A&M Bids officially close for former Macy's building in Post Oak Mall TEA report: Bryan ISD 'needs intervention' in special education Phelps, Payne lead No. 17 Texas A&M by No. 11 Purdue Watch: Mike Elko, Texas A&M players preview Las Vegas Bowl, discuss transfer portal Possible redevelopment of Northgate District relies on future input from stakeholders Elko: College football needs centralized leadership to step in and regulate sport Bremond football's season ends with state semifinal loss to Shiner Charlie's Angels provide gifts for 860 children Texas A&M transfer portal tracker: A look at how the Aggies are building their 2025 roster Teacher, student dead, 6 injured in shooting at Christian school in Wisconsin DPS investigating two fatal auto accidents in Brazos County
"We've got to be better in sync in terms of what we're doing," Taylor said. "We've got to just value the basketball a ton more, especially when we sub and have different people in."
A&M sophomore point guard Sole Williams had her best game of the season with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three assists, three steals and no turnovers in 26 minutes. Williams hadn't practiced until last week because of shin problems. She had been able to play in games, but struggled from the field. Williams is one of several on the 11-person roster who has been dealing with injuries, which has limited practice and hampered continuity.
"In this last game Thursday, we've got to run our offense," Taylor said. "We know the first option, maybe we know the second option, but we don't know the layers of it, all of us on the floor, and that's where we've got to get to."
A&M will open SEC play against 18th-ranked Tennessee on Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. followed by 25th-ranked Ole Miss on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. The Aggies better be prepared to go to a third or even fourth option against those teams.
"I'm not sure right now we can do that consistently enough as we need to," said Taylor, adding that they need to use practice and Thursday's game to become disciplined enough to go though the options on offense.
A&M also needs that consistency on defense. There were times against Texas Southern, "that we looked really elite defensively," Taylor said, adding there were also times A&M had two players guarding one player or no one guarding a player, "especially when we sub in. We can't assume that people know what we're doing."
The Devilettes (1-8) of the Southwestern Athletic Conference should afford the Aggies a chance to work out their kinks. Mississippi Valley State, picked to finish last in the SWAC, is coming off a 98-40 loss at Houston.
NOTES: This is A&M's fan appreciation day with free admission. ... A&M's season low in turnovers was 12 in an 86-38 victory over Western Michigan. ... Mississippi Valley was 4-27 last season, including 3-15 in league play. A&M beat the Devilettes 95-45 on Dec. 18 last year. ... The game will be broadcast on radio on KZEN (1150 AM, 93.7 FM) with Steve Miller and Tap Bentz on the call.
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Robert Cessna
Executive Sports Editor
Author email Follow Robert Cessna Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today