After a tough loss at home last weekend, Texas A&M women’s basketball hit the hardwood in Oxford, Mississippi on Thursday, Feb. 8 against the Ole Miss Rebels. What seemed to be a tightly contested game eventually turned into a 19-point A&M win as the Aggies edged the Rebels out, 72-53.
Despite a slow start on the road, don’t count coach Joni Taylor and A&M basketball out. Ole Miss had all the momentum to start the first quarter, but a media timeout just before the three minute mark led to the end of a two-minute scoring drought for an A&M team down seven points.
The Rebels had no answer for Janiah Barker, as the sophomore forward nailed a much-needed 3-pointer out of the timeout. Senior guard Aicha Coulibaly followed with a fast break layup and another layup from Barker on the next possession brought on a 13-13 tie.
The Rebels’ defensive scheme continued to cripple the Aggies into the second quarter and even locked down graduate G Endyia Rogers. The leading scorer in SEC play for the Aggies scored no points in the first quarter.
Rogers finally made some noise with less than a minute left in the second quarter with a quick steal and a 3-pointer to notch her first points of the game.
Aggression under the basket caused a fiery Barker to approach senior G Kennedy Todd-Williams. Technical fouls followed on both sides and an ejection for Todd-Williams sent the Ole Miss crowd into an uproar just before halftime.
The third quarter was a one-sided showdown courtesy of the Maroon and White. The Aggies outscored the Rebels 21-7 to take the lead that would carry them to the final buzzer.
Barker recorded a season-high 21 points and tallied five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Redshirt junior F Lauren Ware owned the paint to record her ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Rogers persevered against the Rebels’ defense to add 12 points of her own along with three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Senior point guard Madison Scott led Ole Miss with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds. Senior forward Snudda Collins followed Scott with 14 points and two rebounds. The Aggies’ defense stifled Marquesha Davis, a senior G averaging 17.6 points in SEC games that only managed to score 4 points.
The Aggies broke a two-game losing streak with the win against the Rebels and continue on the road to Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 11 for a matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats.
