By ROBERT CESSNA
The high-flying Texas A&M women's basketball team showed the Iowa State Cyclones it can still play defense, grinding out a 68-44 victory before 5,766 on Wednesday night at Reed Arena.
The eighth-ranked Aggies (14-1, 2-0) have been flexing their offensive prowess this season, including a 91-70 romp over Texas last time out in their Big 12 opener. That was the fifth time the Aggies scored 90 or more points, and they entered Wednesday night's game averaging 83.9 points, fourth best in the country.
But against ISU (12-3, 0-2) the Aggies leaned on the type of defensive pressure that has allowed them to make four straight NCAA Tournaments.
The Aggies held the Cyclones to their fewest points of the season by limiting ISU to 30-percent shooting from the floor (15 of 50). The Cyclones, second in the nation in field-goal percent from 3-point range at 43.2, hit only 3 of 17.
"I told my team before [the game] if we score 60 we'll win," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "We made a pretty good team not play to their capabilities. We were able to play just a good, solid ballgame."
ISU senior point guard Alison Lacey had 19 points in a game-high 32 minutes, but the Aggies made her earn them. She was only 6-of-15 shooting and had five turnovers. She missed her only two 3-point attempts.
"We were just trying to go out there and really control Lacey," A&M junior point guard Sydney Colson said. "We know even if she went out there and got her points, if we stopped the other players, she wasn't going to win the game by herself."
Lacey scored 23 against Nebraska, but ISU lost that Big 12 opener 57-49. A&M didn't allow another Cyclone to score in double figures.
"Alison Lacey is a great player, but she can't win the game by herself, so we're pretty much in the same boat we've been in for awhile," ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said.
ISU's other starters were a combined 4-of-20 shooting. Junior guard Kelsey Bolte was 1 of 10 as A&M executed the game plan of associate head coach Vic Schaefer, who is in charge of the defense.
"68-44 makes Coach Schaefer feel much better, and as a result, it trickles down and it makes the players feel much better," Colson said. "I mean, we know we have all these scoring threats. It's much different than last year."
That's especially true in the paint where junior college transfer Danielle Adams led the Aggies in scoring for the fourth time in their last five games.
The 6-foot-1 junior college transfer used her muscle inside to get shots, but also shot short jumpers off the dribble and once pleased the crowd by driving the baseline.
"She's a very big, strong kid around the block," Fennelly said. "It gives them another go-to player on the block to go with their great perimeter game. Their other kids are good players but not players that they run a lot of plays for to score on the block. Certainly Adams is a hard matchup for us and probably hard for a lot of people. She's very, very skilled."
Colson called Adams' play "beastly" which brought a big smile to the Aggie newcomer.
"That's what they want me to do, want me to be a beast inside, and that's what I did," she said.
A&M's defense and Adams' muscle were too much for ISU, but several other Aggies played well, especially Colson who had a strong all-around game.
Colson and fellow point guard Sydney Carter combined for 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and had eight assists with only one turnover.
Colson ended the first half by knocking the ball from Bolte with 2.1 seconds left and scoring at the buzzer for a 32-18 lead.
A&M let up after bolting to a 44-19 halftime lead at Texas, but this time the Aggies kept applying pressure in the second half.
A&M scored 15 points off 16 turnovers, blocked nine shots and had a 35-30 rebounding edge and had nine blocks.
*
NOTES -- ISU is ranked No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. ... A&M has won seven straigth since a 56-54 loss at TCU, when Adams didn't play because of concussion-like symptoms. ... ISU is 0-2 in the Big 12 for the first time.
A&M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
A&M 68, ISU 44
No. 8 A&M 14-1, 2-0; ISU 12-3, 0-2
Next: A&M at No. 13 OU, 4:30 p.m. Sunday
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