Editor’s Note: Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino will feature a look at Southeastern Conference women’s basketball every week.
Gary Blair keeps finding a way to win basketball games.
Whether it has been at South Oak Cliff (Texas) High School, as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, or as a head coach at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas, and now at Texas A&M, Blair always has found a way to have success.
In 2011, Blair reached the ultimate goal when he guided the Texas A&M women’s basketball team to a national title. Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer was an associate head coach on that staff.
An experienced group led by seniors Courtney Williams, Courtney Walker, and Jordan Jones is helping Blair win again. What makes it even more impressive is the Aggies, who are ranked No. 12 in The Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the USA Today poll, are doing it against the nation’s best teams.
Through games played Friday, Texas A&M (6-1) is 2-1 against top-25 teams. It has played the most games against top-25 teams of any Southeastern Conference team.
Texas A&M defeated No. 14 Duke 72-66 in overtime on Nov. 18 in Durham, North Carolina. It also beat No. 16 California 75-58 on Nov 27 in Las Vegas. The next night, No. 11 Ohio State beat Texas A&M 95-80.
The victory against California was the 700th of Blair’s career.
Texas A&M’s road work continues this weekend. On Friday, it defeated Hawaii 82-41. That win raised Blair’s record to 293-120 at Texas A&M. On Saturday, it was scheduled to face BYU. Later this month, it will play SMU (Dec. 7), DePaul (Dec. 12), and Oklahoma (Dec. 20).
The Aggies are relying on Williams, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward, and Walker, a 5-8 guard. Williams is tied for third in the SEC in scoring (17.4 points per game), while Walker is sixth (17.1).
“Walker is the heart and soul of our team,” Blair said. “You have to have talent all around, but you have to have that person you can depend on, and she is All-SEC.”
The return of Jones also has provided a boost. Jones played in and started all 28 games last season before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus on Feb. 26. The injuries caused her to miss the remainder of the season. Still, she was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year. The honor helped her become the league’s second two-time winner of the award.
“I want to be able to pace Jordan to be able to handle the load she is going to have to handle in conference,” Blair said.
Jones is averaging 10.8 ppg. and is third in the league in assists (6.3) in 29.5 minutes per game.
Blair said he is trying to work Walker in at point some to take a load off Jones. He also feels the experience will benefit her when she takes her game to the next level.
For Texas A&M to capitalize on its experience, Blair said post players Khaalia Hillsman, a 6-5 sophomore, and Rachel Mitchell, a 6-7 senior, will have to make their presence felt. Hillsman is averaging 7.0 ppg. and 6.7 rebounds per game in 21.3 minutes per game, while Mitchell is averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Chelsea Jennings, Anriel Howard, and Jasmine Lumpkin have started two games apiece to go with Walker, Williams, Jones and Hillsman.
“(Getting the post players more touches) is something we’re going to have to work on,” Blair said following an 82-78 victory against TCU on Nov. 21. “We are still working on our timing and where we have to ask for the ball and what move to make.”
Blair said Hillsman is the better offensive player of the two, while Mitchell is the better defensive player. As good as Walker, Williams, and Jones are in the backcourt, Blair knows the development of a consistent inside game will be crucial if his team intends to play deep into March.
“What people are going to do is start guarding our guards a little tougher to see if we are going to throw it in(to the post),” Blair said. “We have got to be able to score on offensive rebounds and putbacks.
“You have to have balance inside and outside. When we were winning the national championship, we had Kelsey Bone and Karla Gilbert. … We had five-straight years where we had pros at the five position. Last year we didn’t have that.”
Current MSU Director of Operations and MSU Director of Scouting/Video Coordinator Skylar Collins were members of Texas A&M’s national title team.
Kentucky still a work in progress
It might be hard to imagine a team ranked No. 11 in The Associated Press poll and No. 10 in the USA Today poll is still a work in progress, but the Kentucky women’s basketball team has undergone a lot of transition since the end of the 2014-15 season.
In May, guard Makayla Epps was suspended after she was cited for alcohol-related charges in her hometown of Lebanon, Kentucky. Due to the suspension, Epps missed the team’s season opener against Arizona State. She completed the requirements of the suspension coach Matthew Mitchell placed on her last month.
In October, former McDonald’s All-American Linnae Harper announced she was going to transfer. The Wildcats also lost Oregon transfer Chrishae Rowe, who was dismissed from the team after failing to uphold its standards. Rowe transferred to Kentucky in January and would have been eligible to play after the fall semester. She was the Pacific-12 Conference’s Freshman of the Year after she averaged 21.6 points per game.
Last month, freshman Morgan Rich and junior Kyvin Goodin-Rogers announced they were transferring from Kentucky. Goodin-Rogers was averaging 5.6 ppg. and 1.6 rebounds per game.
Kentucky also is waiting on the return of forward Alyssa Rice, who is recovering from a foot injury and hasn’t played this season.
Still, Kentucky is off to a 7-0 start thanks to an 84-65 victory against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Kentucky will play host to Louisville on Thursday at Rupp Arena, the home of the Kentucky men’s basketball team. The game is one of two the Kentucky women’s team will play in the famed arena. It also will take on Duke on Dec. 20.
Kentucky has stayed on course thanks to the play of Epps, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer, who is averaging a team-best 16.2 ppg. (ninth in the SEC) and a league-leading 7.2 assists per game. Contributions from Janee Thompson, who is averaging 15 ppg. and 7.1 apg. (second in the SEC), and junior college transfer Evelyn Akhator (12.6 ppg., 20th in the SEC; 11 rebounds per game, which leads the league) have helped the Wildcats overcome the personnel changes.
Despite all of the turnover, Mitchell, who is from Louisville, Mississippi, said Epps is still the team leader.
“I think she is definitely our most talented overall player,” Mitchell said. “She certainly has incredible leadership qualities. She has been through a lot of adversity over the summer with her suspension, but I am proud of the progress she has made as a person.
“She is still a work in progress and proving she is going to be an every-day player we can rely on. That comes through action. We can’t talk about it. She clearly has the capability to be a team leader.”
Mitchell said Epps has a better understanding of her responsibility to herself and to others. He said he also sees her taking a more serious approach to preparation. He said in previous years Epps might have been prone to getting by on her athletic ability. Now, though, he said she is putting more into her preparation, which he knows will serve her well on and off the court.
“We’re trying to get Makayla to be the best she can be, and when she is that she is one of the best in the country,” Mitchell said. “There are nights when she is the best player in the country and the very next night she will be average. We want to get out of that. We want her to be consistent with her work ethic.
“She always had a great heart and was good with people, but she just didn’t have a real good combination of responsibility and work ethic. That is all we have tried to develop. She has made tremendous, tremendous strides as a person, and I think that will show up on the court this year.”
The play of Epps, Thompson, Akhator, and Alexis Jennings, who is averaging 11.4 ppg. (tied for 27th in the SEC) is a big reason why Kentucky is leading the SEC in scoring (86.1 ppg.), field goal percentage (49.1), assists (20.9 per game), and 3-point shooting field percentage (41.5 percent). Kentucky is tied with Texas A&M for the league lead.
In addition to Epps and Akhator leading individual statistical categories, Thompson is leading the league in 3-point shooting field goal percentage (51.6 percent).
“We are working really, really hard every day,” Mitchell said. “We have a really, really nice collection of players on the team who are committed to developing the way we try to develop people.”
Mitchell, who earned his 200th victory as a head coach at the school against Jackson State, said the Wildcats aren’t changing their style of play. Mitchell’s teams have been known for their aggressive defense, but he feels the Wildcats will be able to do that as they gain experience.
When Kentucky develops that experience and if it maintains the right attitude and continues to work hard, Mitchell feels his team will have a chance to be one of the nation’s best.
“We are off to a great start offensively and we have not been in our full-court press a lot yet,” Mitchell said. “We are still creating turnovers, but this team has done a great job offensively.”
Last season, Kentucky was seventh in the SEC in field goal percentage (39.9). The Wildcats’ league-leading percentage likely will slip a little once SEC play starts, but Mitchell attributes the higher percentage to hard work in the summer. He said the players committed to improving their footwork and making things simpler on offense. As a result, the Wildcats are sharing the ball more, which is why they are assisting on more than 63 percent of their baskets.
“We are passing the basketball better and making better decisions,” Mitchell said. “Our guards are doing a great job of taking care of the ball.”
The return of Thompson has aided that cause. The 5-foot-7 senior point guard suffered a dislocated ankle and broken fibula against South Carolina and missed the final 17 games. She was averaging 10.1 ppg. at the time of her injury.
Mitchell credits Thompson, who leads the team with 50 assists, for her role in the team’s high-scoring ways. Thompson (22 turnovers) and Epps (43 assists, 12 turnovers) have a 2-to-1 ratio on assist-to-turnovers.
“Thompson has been been outstanding,” Mitchell said. “When she got hurt last year, all she could do for a long time was shoot (as she recovered). I can’t believe how great her shot looks.”
Akhator, a 6-3 forward from Chipola Junior College (Fla.), has provided a presence in the paint. She is shooting 53.5 percent from the field and is third on the team in scoring.
With all of those pieces, Mitchell likes his team’s potential.
“I believe if we can get everything out of them we can be a great high character group,” Mitchell said. “They are hungry and love to work. They are a fun team to coach.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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