Gary Blair Gets 700th Win, Texas A&M Blows Out Cal

Texas A&M women’s basketball coach Gary Blair got his 700 th win Nov. 27 as the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies beat the No. 16 Cal Golden Bears 75-58 in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout at South Point Arena.

Blair is the 16”Ith coach in Division 1 to get 700 wins, achieving it in his 31st year of coaching. Only six coaches have done it quicker. He won 210 games at Stephen F. Austin, 198 at Arkansas and has 292 at Texas A&M.

After the game, Blair praised his senior players Courtney Williams and Courtney Walker, who had 32 and 18 points respectively.

“Williams, Walker-whenever they graduate I feel like following out the door because they’ve been special. They put up a lot of those wins with me, and I think I’ve got the best point guards (Jordan Jones and Chelsea Jennings) in the country.”

Williams’ 32 is a career high and the most for Texas A&M since Kelsey Bone scored 33 Dec. 20, 2012.

Blair also praised 16-ranked Cal, who was undefeated coming into the game.

“ I’m a history buff of the game, and I learned by playing great coaches. If I got to 700 I wanted it to be against a quality opponent like Cal. (Coach) Lindsay (Gottlieb) is one of the rising stars of the game. She only has nine kids and plays six or seven at most, and we were able to wear her down a bit.”

Williams had 12 points during the first quarter, and her basket at the end of the first gave the Aggies a one-point lead and sparked a 33-nine run that put the game away.

While the Golden Bears outrebounded the Aggies 36-27, they were unable to capitalize. Forward Kristine Aginwe scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

PHOTO: WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 06: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) is presented with a jersey by head coach Gary Blair (R) during a Rose Garden event to welcome the Texas A&M University Women’s Basketball Team to the White House October 6, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted the basketball team to honor their 2011 NCAA Championship. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)