LOS ANGELES (AP) - Texas A&M freshman Chennedy Carter broke a school record. And now, she’s going to Disneyland for the first time.
Carter scored 46 points, a Texas A&M single-game record, and the game-winner to lead the No. 19 Aggies to a 75-74 win over USC on Friday night at the Galen Center.
Carter made the game-winning fallaway shot from the baseline with nine seconds left to lift Texas A&M to a 9-2 record. USC’s Aliyah Mazyck tried a 3-pointer with two seconds left but it didn’t fall.
“All glory to God. That was a big shot. It was tough for me,” Carter said. “I didn’t know if it was going to go in. As a freshman, sometimes you have to take it, and whether I missed or made it, I had to live with it.”
She’ll celebrate her big game with her teammates in Anaheim on Sunday after they make a stop at Staples Center to check out the statues out front. Carter will have to convince some of her teammates to go on some of the wildest rides with her.
“I love amusement parks. I love roller coasters,” Carter said. “I’ll ride any roller coaster, it doesn’t matter how high or how fast.”
Carter was driving to the basket with ease and nailing outside shots. She scored 15 points in the first quarter but it was a back-and-forth game that went down the wire. Carter made 17 of 28 shots. The only thing Aggies coach Gary Blair could complain about was her five turnovers.
Still, it was a record-setting night. Danielle Adams had the previous record of 40 points set on Feb. 12, 2011, against Kansas.
“I was there for Danielle Adams when she hit 40 and broke the school record,” Blair said. “For a freshman to come in and do it on the road, it was just mind-boggling. The shots that she had to hit, a number of them they were just hanging on her. Her drive is as good as anybody I’ve ever had driving the ball.”
USC (8-1) suffered its first loss of the season. Sadie Edwards had 20 points for USC, and Kristen Simon added 18.
The Aggies were down by one with no timeouts, but everyone at the Galen Center knew who would take the shot. She was well-defended but that didn’t matter.
“My assistant Jason Glover has NBA experience, and that last (defense we tried against) her, she faked it and spun off the screen and came off and he said, ’that’s an NBA move.’ She just pulled a Chris Paul move,” USC coach Mark Trakh said. “That’s how good this kid was. Not much of a defensive plan except hope she misses.”
USC ran out to eight consecutive wins then had the last two weeks off. That was plenty of time to prepare for the Aggies. Still, it was hard to devise a plan to stop Carter, who made 6 of 8 field-goal attempts in the first quarter and never went cold.
Carter is Texas A&M’s leading scorer and leads the country in scoring among freshmen. Khaalia Hillsman - the Aggies’ second-leading scorer - was held to six points on 2-for-6 shooting.
The Trojans were outrebounded 27-18 in the first half but led by a point at the break.
Simon was honored before the game for reaching 1,000 career points. And USC coach Mark Trakh was honored for his 400th career victory.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: The Aggies should benefit from getting road-tested - this was their second consecutive game away from College Station. They played nine of their first 10 games at home.
USC: The Trojans faced their most difficult test of the season by far and had a chance to win on a last-second shot but it didn’t fall. It was something to build on.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M: Plays Hawaii in the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
USC: Plays Middle Tennessee in the UTRGV Holiday Classic.
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