COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 13 Texas A&M women’s basketball travels to the Windy City for its first ranked test of the year, challenging the No. 19 DePaul Blue Demons in a 4 p.m. matchup at Wintrust Arena on Saturday.
Streaming for the game is available through DePaul All-Access by clicking here. Saturday’s matchup between the Aggies and Blue Demons is the first game between two teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. A&M enters the game at 1-0 following a 77-61 victory over Lamar, while the Blue Demons prepare for their first game of the season.
The Maroon & White earned their first win on the backs of multiple new career-highs, headlined by a dominant 18-rebound effort from senior center Ciera Johnson. The Duncanville, Texas, native also chipped in 18 points, complementing N’dea Jones’ career high 25-point performance. Sophomore guard Jordan Nixon operated A&M’s offense, finishing with a career-high six assists to go along with four points and two rebounds.
A&M’s work on the glass was dominant Wednesday afternoon, outrebounding Lamar 55-28 as the duo of Johnson and Jones led the way with 29 boards combined. The Aggies ball movement also played a key role, as the team won the assist differential 19-14. Senior guard Destiny Pitts led all bench scorers with 11 points, all in the third period of play.
Under the direction of 35-year veteran coach Doug Bruno, the Blue Demons welcome the Aggies to town following a 28-5 campaign last season coupled with the program’s third-consecutive Big East Tournament championship. The scoring effort is managed by the one-two punch of Sonya Morris and Lexi Held, who averaged 15.6 and 15.4 points per game last season, respectively. Senior guard Deja Church played a key role on the defensive end, and led the team in blocks with 16 and tallied 44 steals.
Texas A&M maintains a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series with DePaul entering the sixth matchup between the two programs. The Aggies took the only iteration of the series played in Chicago in the 2014-15 season, defeating the then-No. 18 Blue Demons 76-68. The last time the two squads met was in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. A&M erased a 17-point deficit, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in program history.
