Honestly, I didn’t really want to go to this game. It’s their annual, celebration of “Poor Lifestyle Choices” Game. It’s a wee bit on the nose that only Aggie Women’s Basketball does this. Regardless, I really didn’t have anything better to do and I wanted to support the team. I’m not sure if I’ll be going to any of their other games left this season with Softball and Baseball starting next month. Whatever other plans I was considering, I accidentally overslept. Going to the game was the only thing to do after I got up.
After seeing today’s program, I wasn’t expecting much. The Missouri State Lady Bears were 12-5 and 4-0 in conference. The 6-11 Aggies, 2-3 in conference, didn’t look like much of a challenge. There didn’t even look like much of a crowd, even with the game starting well before today’s NFL playoff games. This was deceiving. Attendance was 959. The east side of the stands, including the Booster section, was sparse, but the west side had most of the fans. Even several of the suites had occupants. There was a knot of MO St. fans behind their bench. They blended in, since they were wearing crimson, too.
The full Roadrunner Revue band was present, along with two sets of Cheerleaders (including a new little one that was really cute) and the Sundancers (and Pistol Pete, of course). MO St. was practicing when I came in. They ran off during the Anthem and came back to practice more afterward. There was a group of girls and their chaperones sitting where I usually sit. Some other people I’m usually with also got bumped. I don’t know what the group’s affiliation was with each other. There was a group of teen boys below all wearing jerseys with the name “Family” on the back. Also, there was another group of teen girls in the rafters. We’d see more of them later.
First Quarter
Admittedly, I missed several baskets on the scorecard. I don’t know how that happened. I was listening to an Aggie Men’s Basketball game against the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. I almost forgot about it, even though I’d brought a radio to listen to the game. Really, that game wasn’t much of a distraction. It would turn out to be a blowout, while the ladies’ game would be much more interesting.
Emma Christiano began the scoring for the Aggies with a quick jumper. The Band missed mocking the opponents during their introductions, but they were into it to start the game with their cheering. Morane Dossou came out with a pair of rebounds and a steal off a block. She then added a layup. Morane was hustling, which made it all the more surprising that Coach Adams nearly charged the court yelling at her on the next possession. She took Morane out and gave her a short lecture on the sidelines.
Imani Warren and Lucia Yenes put in their first baskets. Marta Guilera, who’d come in for Morane, accidently tripped a Bear and Morane was back in. Lucia found Imani on a fast break and it was 10-6 Aggies with 4’ left in the quarter.
Out of a break, Maiesha Washington spotted Kendal Bruggen under the Bear basket for a backdoor layup. It was pretty. Imani answered with a jumper and a layup. She already had 8 points. I wondered if Imani was sick during the previous game, but she was fine now. Keira Hudson was in and put in a 3. The next time she touched the ball was a little more comical. She lost the ball three times on her dribble, but got it back with a tie up. Morane added a layup and she was at 6 points. It was 21-10 Aggies after 10 minutes. So far, so good.
Second Quarter
The crowd seemed to still be coming in, which was another reason why I thought the game was poorly attended at first. Meanwhile in snowy Delaware, the Aggie Men were up 26-14 about 10’ into the half. The guys were hitting their 3’s. Keira was doing the same and hit two 3’s. 27-24 Aggies, 6’ left in the half. She also pulled down a rebound, while being the shortest player on the court (with Emma off).
There was Bad Lifestyle Choice propaganda in every other break. It was annoying. Lucia Lara was getting some playing time from the end of the last quarter into this one. The Coach was doing a lot of subbing to keep the players fresh. She was also chewing out the players on the bench. Coach Adams wanted this one. So did Keira. She sank a couple of the free throws to make it, 31-16 Aggies with 4’ left. She came out of the game with 8 points in the quarter, 11 total.
Marta was back in and found Anna Csenyi for a layup and a free throw. 36-20 Aggies with 2’ left. Maycee James stole the ball from Emma and went for a layup. Emma managed to steal it back under the basket. However, she was called for a foul and the crowd did not approve. (It looked clean.) Imani hit Deavion Wilson for a last second layup. The Aggies were up, 38-25.
Halftime
The Aggie Men were up, 49-30, at the half of their game. They were shooting 60% for the half. The trivia question was interesting. The Aggies had the largest comeback before scoring in NCAA history. They started off their 1977 game with Bradley down 28-0, but came back and won. The teen girls from the rafters (with a couple of guys) came down to the court. They were a hip hop dance troop. They were pretty good. Jacqueline Corcoran and Mia Fox from Aggie Volleyball walked by in aisle. I saw them again after the game. I was too intimidated by their good looks to say anything, but I kinda wanted to ask if the team had any spring games scheduled.
Third Quarter
Morane pulled down her sixth rebound to start the second half, but the Aggies came up empty on three shots on the possession. Morane also had an interception on a pass. Kaemyn Bekemeier hit a Bear 3 and the Aggies called a timeout with the score, 38-30 Aggies with 7’ left. In Delaware, the Blue Hens had narrowed the score to 51-40 Aggies.
Keira got called for a foul for getting too vigorous on a tie up with a taller player. Anna got the first Aggie points of the quarter taking out the trash on a miss at the rim. 40-32 Aggies 5’ left. Imani then floated one in. Morane got in a vigorous tie up of her own and ended up on the court with the other player. The Coach took her out again for another lecture. Marta was in for Morane and got an assist to Lucia on a layup. 44-32 Aggies with 4’ left.
Right before a timeout, there was a scuffle over the ball on the sideline. No foul. While the referee was there, he had a chat with some fans at the table wearing Emma t-shirts. The refs are human, even during the game. A couple of adorable little kids came up on Bongo Cam.
Back to play, Emma made an amazing steal of a ball being held in both hands by the defender. Absolute thievery. On the bench, the Coach was still talking to Morane before she finally put her back in. Imani had a block and then made a dunk pass to Morane down low for a layup. 50-37 Aggies after three quarters.
Fourth Quarter
A family sat down in front of me after the game started. At one point, the kids started what I can only call a “Selfie fight,” by shooting each other with their smartphones. Mom took a family picture. They left before the end of the game. Maybe they wanted to get home for the NFL playoffs this afternoon.
Keira started the fourth quarter with a jumper. She was on fire with 15 points. Back at the bench, the Coach was still lecturing the players. The team probably wishes she was still sick and subdued like she was last month (12-29-25). Emma was pushed down on a turnover. No foul. The Coach took the opportunity to yell at the referee in the break. On camera, a little girl was waving a Bad Lifestyle Choice flag. This infuriated me for the rest of the afternoon, but I kept rooting for my team.
Emma gave the team a talk on court before play started. The Coach chipped in something additionally. In the crowd, a chant of “Christiano!” would ring out whenever Emma brought the ball up court. After a couple of the layups by Lainie Douglas, the Bears closed the gap to 54-46 with 5’ left in the game. Emma took the ball away on a tie up. She also elbowed James, who was guarding her, down to the court. The ref apparently took it as a flop and no foul.
The Aggie Men were firmly in control of their game, 84-58, though an Aggie had fouled out. Douglas made another layup and it became uncomfortably close, 56-51 Aggies with 2’ left. Keira was back in and forced a turnover, but Bekemeier had a layup and it was a 2-point game with less than a minute left. Timeout Aggies.
The Men won their game going away, 97-68. It was their first road win of the season. In Las Cruces, it was clutch time. Give it to your star. Imani kissed a shot off the glass for a basket and the foul and the free throw. The Bears made a quick jumper, but Morane came back with a layup. Emma was intentionally fouled and iced it with 2 foul shots. Aggies win, 63-56! To add to it, PA Ed announced that this was Coach Adams’ 250-th win. Congratulations.
Let me give you the stats for the Aggie Men first. Five Aggies were in double digits scoring with Jemel Jones leading with 19 points. Juice Mims had 13 points and 10 rebounds. The team shot an astonishing 57%, 50% on 3’s, and (get this) 100% on free throws (11 for 11). Damn. After their heartbreaking loss on Thursday, I hope this one gets their confidence back.
Lainie Douglas led the Lady Bears with 17 points. Kaemyn Bekemeier had 11. Faith Lee and Maiesha Washington both had 10. Imani Warren paced the Aggies with 17 points. Keira Hudson had a tremendous game off the bench with 15 points and 3 3’s. Morane Dossou had 10 points and 13 rebounds. All those lectures from the Coach paid off with Morane today.
The Aggies shot 48%, 33% on 3’s, and 83% on free throws. Missouri State shot 35%. I’m not sure I can tell you why the Aggies won, but I can tell you why the Lady Bears lost. They were 1 for 9 on shooting 3’s. Coach Adams did a good job of subbing players and keeping them fresh certainly. The real question is: how do you get this Aggie team to show up for the rest of the season?
I went over to dad’s apartment to watch an NFL playoff game myself afterward. Pizza Hut was running a $10 special on their Big New Yorker pizza. (I was hungry, but that wasn’t the greatest pizza. $10 was about right.) For the future, I kind of hope I can go to at least one more Aggie Women’s Basketball game this season. The team has certainly been mostly entertaining, win or lose.
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