In the final non-conference game of the regular season for Texas A&M, fans at Reed Arena were treated to a highly competitive SEC-Big 10 showdown.
The A&M women’s basketball team fell at the hands of Purdue in a back-and-forth affair by a score of 59-53 on Wednesday, Dec. 21. With the loss, the Aggies fell to 5-5 on the season while Purdue improved to 10-2.
A&M was once again without four key contributors in freshman forward Janiah Barker, sophomore guard Tineya Hylton, senior center Sydnee Roby and graduate senior guard McKinzie Green.
Junior guard Kay Kay Green was key for the Aggies in the second half, scoring 12 of her team-high 14 points.
“The pull up was there all night,” Green said. “In our first quarter, my shots weren’t falling. I kept shooting and in the third quarter it opened up and I was able to hit my first shot and I just ran with it.”
Despite the loss, the Aggies put up a quality defensive performance only allowing 59 points, a season low for the Boilermakers, who were averaging 79.2 points per game before the contest. Leading the charge defensively was graduate senior forward Aaliyah Patty with a team-high nine defensive rebounds and two blocks.
“We have been capitalizing on defense and really honing in on the principles and we switched all night and it worked for us,” Green said.
Purdue’s largest lead of the first half came late, leading 26-19, before junior guard Sahara Jones knocked down a three to send the Aggies, trailing 26-22, to the break.
Coming out of the half, the Aggies received 5 quick points from Patty, giving them a 27-26 lead. After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Boilermakers used a 6-point run to give them a 45-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.
With 3:34 left in the game, A&M tied it up at 49 after a 9-2 run capped off by a 2-point jump shot from Green, igniting a fire into the fans at Reed. However, the Aggies were unable to get the important late game baskets and defensive stops on their way to a 59-53 defeat.
“In that situation we got to make free throws, we got to get stops,” coach Joni Taylor said. “We played good enough to win it at the same time. It’s just about making plays at the end.”
The Aggies will now shift their focus to conference play as their non-conference schedule has come to a close.
“I feel like we learned a lot trying to figure out how to close games,” freshman guard Sydney Bowles said as she reflected on the non-conference games. “I know that we grew, we’re gonna be a really tough team to play.”
After going on a break for the holidays, the Aggies will be back in action Dec. 29 as they travel to South Carolina to take on the No. 1 Gamecocks to open conference play.