Williams, No. 20 Texas A&M women beat Houston 83-65

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Danni Williams scored 21 points while Khaalia Hillsman and Anriel Howard each had double-doubles to help the No. 20 Texas A&M women beat Houston 83-65 on Friday in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.

The Aggies will host Louisiana in the second round on Sunday.

Hillsman had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Howard added 11 and 14 and Chennedy Carter scored 15 points for Texas A&M (1-0).

Hillsman made back-to-back layups before Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it 7-0 and the Aggies never trailed. A layup by Myyah West trimmed Houston's deficit to 10-9, but Texas A&M scored 16 of the next 20 points before taking a 30-19 lead into the second quarter.

Houston's Angela Harris hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter and pull the Cougars within four, 60-56, but Hillsman made two layups, Williams hit two 3s and Carter made six free throws during a 16-4 run that made it 76-60 with four minutes to play.

Texas A&M hit 31 of 36 from the free-throw line, while the Cougars made 13 of 18.

Dorian Branch had 17 points and Harris scored 14 for Houston (0-1).