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16th-ranked Georgia in the SEC tournament semifinals.

“Did we peak too early?” Blair said, referring to a 23-1 start that included a 13-1 SEC record, but he didn’t think so. “We played our butts off all year.”

A&M might have to overachieve in order to match last season’s success after having a program- and nationbest trio of players taken in the WNBA draft. Replacing center Ciera Johnson, power forward N’dea Jones and shooting guard Aaliyah Wilson is a huge challenge as they combined for 230 career starts. Johnson, in addition to being the player the offense went through, was the player everyone followed. Jones had the most rebounds and doubledoubles in program history and Wilson was a first-round pick who made an opening-day WNBA roster and is still in the league.

A&M caught a huge break when wing Kayla Wells and sixth woman Destiny Pitts both opted to return for a senior season. Wells has made 94 career starts, averaging 13.4 points the last three seasons. Blair said Pitts was the best pure shooter he’d coached when she transferred in from Minnesota and she proved it, hitting 49 of 106 from 3-point range for 46.2%. A&M will be a huge threat from the perimeter as Wells is shooting 36.9% from 3-point range in her career – 104 of 282.

A&M’s third returning starter is junior point guard Jordan Nixon, who didn’t disappoint in her first season after having to sit out the 2019-20 season after transferring from Notre Dame. Nixon hit buzzerbeating layups to beat Arkansas twice, then capped a 35-point game against Iowa State in the NCAA tournament with a layup at the buzzer for the 84-82 overtime victory. That came on the heels of 21 points in the victory over Troy.

“What a young lady to have coming back,” Blair said. “[It’s] very similar to Johnny Manziel when he got all that attention for beating Alabama back then.”

A&M will have newcomers inside. Candidates from within the program are sophomore forward Maliyah Johnson and sophomore center Kenyal Perry along with a pair of transfers in junior center Sydnee Roby (Miami) and senior forward Aaliyah Patty (Ohio State). Blair’s most important newcomers, though, are on the bench after losing longtime assistants Amy Wright (Oklahoma) and Bob Starkey (Auburn). They were replaced by co-associate head coach Vernette Skeete and assistant coach Greg Brown who joins longtime assistant Kelly Bond-White in trying to make Blair’s 50th season in coaching special

soCCer

A&M soccer coach G Guerrieri is a dozen years short of Blair, but he’s the dean of Aggieland mentors, entering his 29th season. Guerrieri and his players are coming off their own roller-coaster type season as they played a split season because of COVID-19.

A&M went 7-2 in the fall and 4-1 in the spring to earn the No. 7 seed for the NCAA tournament, which a like the women’s basketball tournament was played entirely in North Carolina so COVID-19 protocols and testing could be observed.

A&M (12-4-1) beat South Florida in the first round 2-0 and won 4-3 on penalty kicks over Oklahoma State after a 3-3 tie in regulation, but lost to North Carolina 1-0 in the Elite Eight. “This [was] a super year and hopefully they’ve set the stage now for something that could be even more special later in 2021,” Guerrieri said.

A&M returns sophomore forward Barbara Olivieri who led the team with 21 points (8 goals, 5 assists). Senior Karlina Sample was co-SEC defender of the year. Junior goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell, was 8-3-1 with an 0.89 goal allowed average with seven shutouts.

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So you’re going to be new in town, and you’ll need to fi nd your way around! While there’s so much more to see and do in Aggieland than can fi t in this publication, here are a few of our iconic locations that are essential to being a Bryan-College Station local. tiMe to eXplore

Downtown Bryan and College Station’s Northgate District are major hotspots for food, fun and live music. Downtown Bryan features the “must do” monthly event of First Friday, which is held on the fi rst Friday of the month and includes art, music, a great shopping experience and awesome restaurants.

The Northgate District features some of the best food and bars in the area! While at Northgate make sure to stop by the Dixie Chicken for the it’s famous Tijuana Fries and a game of 42, the State Game of Texas! Both Downtown Bryan and the Northgate District are packed with things to keep you busy day or night.

ALL AROUND

District features for tHe foodies

Bryan-College Station has a variety of unique restaurants for all the foodies coming into town. You can head down to Mad Taco and Fuego for out-of-thisworld handcrafted taco combinations, or if you are running low on clean clothes you can head to Harvey Washbangers, which is a famous laundromat and hamburger joint.

C&J Barbeque and Koppe Bridge restaurants are both local favorites. If you are looking for an Authentic Brazilian Steakhouse dine at Casa do Brasil where there is a local musician featured every Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday night for live

Harvey Washbangers, music. music. If you venture to Downtown Bryan, be sure to take a picture with the “I love Carbs” wall at Caff e’ Capri, and end the night with an exquisite piece of chocolate from the legendary Chocolate Gallery. CAn ’t MAKe it HoMe for BreAK? During the