Texas A&M women’s basketball earned its second win of the season when the Western Michigan Broncos came to Reed Arena on Sunday. The matchup marked the first time the two programs have ever faced each other.
A&M has struggled offensively so far this season, but scoring was not an issue in Sunday’s win.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter. The scoreboard operator was finally put to work when the Aggies drew first blood two minutes into the game, as sophomore guard Janae Kent sank a jumper. By the end of the first, the Aggies led in every statistic and outscored the Broncos, 21-10.
The Aggies built on to their lead in the second quarter, going 2-2 from three on their way to another 21-point frame. A&M’s defense continued to be an issue for the Broncos. Western Michigan went 3-14 from the field and 1-5 from three, recording only seven points in the second quarter. Limiting the Broncos’ three-point opportunities was something the Aggies focused on this week, coach Joni Taylor said on Friday.
A&M recorded five blocks and nine steals in the first half and forced the Broncos into committing 13 turnovers. Western Michigan’s shooting woes were no joke, going 22% in the first half.
“We always pride ourselves on defense, it’s something that we do hang our hats on,” graduate G Sahara Jones said.
Redshirt junior G Kyndall Hunter led the Aggies in scoring at the half, accounting for 10 of their 42 points while she shot 3-4 from the field and perfect from three.
“Kyndall is someone who I’m really, really hard on, and she takes that really well,” Taylor said. “She’s got the potential to be really good and so there’s just a different level of expectation.”
The third quarter was all Maroon and White. Hunter knocked down another pair of threes and Jones led the team with seven points. A&M recorded seven points off turnovers in the third. Western Michigan struggled again offensively in the third, going 20% from the field and tallying only nine points.
The fourth saw the Aggies push the gas pedal even further, scoring a game-high 23 points and holding the Broncos to just 12 points. A&M dominated low, recording 14 points in the paint and four offensive rebounds in the fourth.
Hunter finished as the leading scorer for the game, ending the game with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists.
“My teammates were just finding me in the right places,” Hunter said. “We were very confident, we were very decisive when making decisions, and I feel like that could beat anybody on any given day. I just think that today was my day.”
Jones had her first double-double of the season, matching her season high 16 points and setting a new career-high with 13 rebounds. Defensively, fifth year-senior G Aicha Coulibaly led the team with a career-high four blocks and four steals.
“We’re starting to get some things figured out on the defensive end, which is where it needs to start for us,” Taylor said. “This is, again, what we need to continue to work towards.”
Sunday’s 86-38 win marked the 900th victory in program history and the first time that the Aggies have scored more than 20 points in each quarter during Taylor’s time as head coach.
The Aggies will hit the road to take on the No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. airing on ESPN+.
