Typically when we talk about dominant play on Texas A&M's women's basketball team, we talk about Chennedy Carter and all of her greatness. The Aggies would live by and die by her ability to carry the team offensively and cover the opposing team's best player. It also appeared at times that the offense would become stagnant when Carter wasn't having a good game.
Videos by FanBuzz
However, forward Ciera Johnson has emerged this season as the Shaquille O'Neal to Carter's Kobe Bryant, and she's only getting better. Just last week, she posted a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds in a blowout win over Alabama — where the Aggies held the Crimson Tide to just six points in the first quarter — and followed it up with 10 points and 11 rebounds in another double-digit win over Georgia.
On the season, the 6-foot-4 post player is averaging 11.7 points, which ranks fourth on the team, and is second in rebounding at 8.2 per game. She has scored in double figures 14 times this season and also registered double-double in six of those contests. In her freshman season at Louisville, she only averaged four points and two rebounds.
Johnson adds a real threat in the paint when it comes to additional scoring, consistent rebounding, and rim protection.
The emergence and consistency of Johnson's level of play not only takes a lot of pressure off of Carter, but also makes their overall offensive attack more potent by spreading the floor and forcing people to help in the post while leaving Carter one-on-one on the perimeter.
The Aggies, who are now 15-4 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, showed that they can beat you inside and out without forcing Carter to jack up shots when the team is struggling to score. This is a great sign for the Aggies and hopefully she can keep it going.
Texas A&M travels to face Auburn on Thursday night before hosting No. 15 Kentucky at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.
