Lauren Ware's 14-point, 13-rebound double-double powered Texas A&M to a 6-1 start as the Aggies outmuscled Georgia Tech on the boards in the ACC/SEC challenge.
The message from Texas A&M women’s basketball was simple ... if Georgia Tech wanted a rebounding war, they came to the wrong gym.
The Aggies advanced to 6-1 on the season after a dominant ACC/SEC Challenge win over the Yellow Jackets, and it all started with a beatdown on the glass.
Graduate forward Lauren Ware set the tone with a monster 14-point, 13-rebound double-double, absolutely bullying one of the ACC's best rebounding teams and flipping the script on their supposed strength.
Heading into the matchup, Georgia Tech led its league in rebounding. A&M didn't just survive that test; it passed it with authority, winning the battle on the boards 45-40.
"Obviously, they lead their league in rebounds, so that was one of our keys to win," Ware said postgame. "The scout was to win the rebound battle and we did that; we knew that would put us in a good position to win."
Ware wasn't alone in the wrecking crew.
Six different Aggies recorded rebounds, with Fatsmata Janneh snagging 10 of her own and guards flying in from the perimeter to clean up misses, especially in the second half.
That collective effort turned the game into a grind Georgia Tech couldn't match.
"Fats did a great job too on the boards," Ware added. "Our guards did a good job of boxing out, getting touches. I think we had a stream where we had like five, six offensive rebounds in one play at the end of that game."
The fourth quarter was where that relentlessness really showed up. Texas A&M ripped down six offensive rebounds in the final frame alone, compared to just two for Georgia Tech.
Overall, the Aggies went from 18 total rebounds in the first half to 22 in the second, stepping harder on the gas as the game wore on.
"That's just being relentless because rebounding doesn't take any skill," Ware said. "That’s just effort, so I think we did a good job of that."
And that effort is coming from a roster that’s almost entirely rebuilt.
With a 6-1 start, this is one of the best early-season stretches A&M has seen since Joni Taylor took over, a massive jump from last year's 10-19 struggle.
The chemistry is still developing, but the identity is already clear ... defend, rebound, and make every possession miserable for the opponent.
"I think overall our team is just you know we're playing well together," Pryor said. "We still have some things we need to work on of course, but I think overall we're playing very well, and I think we share the ball very well as well."
New faces, new energy, same SEC edge ... and if the Aggies keep rebounding like this, 6-1 might just be the beginning.
Next up, the Aggies will host the No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers at Reed Arena on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. CT and can be seen on SEC Network+.