History was made Sunday afternoon in the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, but no history that Texas A&M would like to be a part of as they allowed Vanderbilt graduate guard Ciaja Harbison to tie the Vanderbilt school record with 41 points in a game.
Coming off their first conference win of the season a week ago, the Aggie women’s basketball team fell to Vanderbilt Sunday, Jan. 29, 88-79. Harbison’s performance led the Commodores to their first conference win of the season.
Despite the loss, the Aggies scored a season-high in points with 79.
The Aggies threw the first punch of the game, using the first four minutes to take a 7-0 lead behind four points from junior guard Kay Kay Green. Green ended the quarter with six points.
Vanderbilt rallied back to decrease the Aggie lead to 10-7 behind five points from Harbison. A&M maintained its lead throughout a back-and-forth finish as they led 18-15 after the first-quarter buzzer sounded.
Graduate forward Aaliyah Patty finished the quarter with four points helping the Aggies maintain their lead. The first-quarter performances from Harbison and Patty were signs of what was to come early in the second quarter for both teams.
A&M used an early 7-0 run in the second quarter, five of those points coming from Patty, to go up 25-17. Harbison then responded with a 7-0 run of her own to get the Commodores within one point.
With freshman forward Janiah Barker coming off a 24-point performance a week ago and Patty on the bench due to foul trouble, the Commodores took advantage, going on a 12-0 run and pulling ahead 36-28.
Barker returned to the game for the last three and a half minutes in the first half, getting to the free throw line twice and scoring her first four points of the game.
Despite the Aggies getting Barker involved, Vanderbilt finished the half in front of the Aggies 40-32. Harbison led all scorers with 18 first-half points.
The Aggies’ defense, which had been the strongest part of their game throughout conference play, struggled to slow down the Vanderbilt offense as the Commodores built a 51-37 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the third quarter.
There remained no answer defensively for the Aggies throughout the third quarter as Harbison scored 12 points in the quarter and the Commodores ended the third quarter on top, 72-56.
The Aggies were able to get within eight points of the Commodores multiple times in the fourth quarter, but the offensive onslaught from Harbison never let the Aggies get within striking distance. Harbison finished with her school-record 41 points as Vanderbilt closed out a 88-79 victory.
With the loss, the Aggies fall to 1-8 in the SEC and 6-13 overall. They will look to bounce back as they face off against the Florida Gators, Thursday, Feb. 2, in Gainesville, Fla.