Prairie View A&M's coach knows how to win basketball games. Cynthia Cooper-Dyke won enough as a player to make the hall of fame, and she recognized a top-notch team in Texas A&M.
The 10th-ranked Aggie women pulled away from the Lady Panthers late in the first half and rolled to an 89-48 victory over Prairie View before an announced crowd of 4,059 at Reed Arena on Monday night.
Texas A&M improved to 10-1 with the nonconference win, earning the praise of Cooper-Dyke, a former WNBA champion with the Houston Comets.
"They proved why they're the No. 10 team in the country," Cooper-Dyke said. "They play on both ends of the floor and everybody who stepped on the court contributed.
"We got what we deserved, in the sense that we didn't come to play, and you cannot come to Texas A&M and not be ready to play. It seemed like the girls were still on vacation for the most part."
Prairie View (3-6) stayed with its fellow system school for a few minutes, but the combination of the Aggies' inside game and pressure defense eventually proved too much for the Panthers.
"I thought we played very solid in the middle part of the game," A&M coach Gary Blair said.
The Aggie post players were solid gold for much of the game. Sophomore Kelsey Assarian started her first game for A&M and produced a career-high 10 points in the first half. Junior transfer Danielle Adams poured in 10 of her game-high 19 points as the Aggies opened the second half with a 14-1 run to choke any hopes of a Prairie View comeback.
Senior forward Tanisha Smith added 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Aggies dominate near the basket with a 52-32 advantage on points in the paint and a 54-36 edge in rebounds.
"We not only allowed cuts and interior passes, but we also allowed offensive rebounds," Cooper-Dyke said. "That is a recipe for disaster. Assarian killed us in the first half. Adams, with her soft touch and strength inside, was a handful for us in the second half."
Smith, who began the night averaging 3.7 rebounds per outing, matched her career high in rebounds to record the second double-double of her career. Smith has scored 55 points in her last three games.
"Tanisha right now is sort of in a zone," Blair said. "If any kid needed a double-double it is her, because rebounding is usually not her strength."
The game was tied at 12-12 when the Aggies switched to a trapping zone defense that kick-started the rout. Prairie View missed eight shots and committed five turnovers while being held without a point for 5 minutes, 36 seconds as A&M scored 12 consecutive points.
"We had to make some adjustments," Blair said. "Switching [from a man-to-man defense] to the 2-2-1 was the smartest thing we did. We're not trying to steal the ball: We're trying to disrupt their offense and make them do something that they're not used to doing. That's basically what we did."
Prairie View crept within 26-21, but Adams scored seven points and Smith made back-to-back baskets as the Aggies pushed the lead to 43-29 at halftime.
Adams made four baskets from 8 feet and closer as the Aggies started the second half with a 14-1 charge.
Tyra White scored 11 points for the Aggies, who will play at New Mexico on Wednesday. Point guard Sydney Colson added seven points and five assists.
Latara Darrett, a transfer from Baylor, and Gaati Werema had 11 points each for Prairie View.
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