Texas A&M women’s basketball had lost nine of the last 10 matchups against the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks. Thursday’s matchup between the squads continued A&M’s recent losing history when it was defeated again, 90-49.
In the early going, the A&M defense struggled to get stops against an electric South Carolina offense that easily dispersed the ball around the perimeter and inside the paint.
“I thought they punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t punch back,” A&M coach Joni Taylor said.
The 2024 national champions, led by coach Dawn Staley, have won three championships during her tenure and reached six Final Fours in the last nine NCAA tournaments.
“Offensively, [A&M’s] not shy to shoot the basketball,” Staley said.
But A&M did not shoot the ball well. Offensively, issues piled up for the Aggies, such as finding good looks, rebounding the ball, communicating well and stopping South Carolina in transition.
“I think they were the more physical team,” Taylor said. “They pushed us off our spots, they rode us off screens, they didn’t let us get to our spots and we just conceded on both ends of the floor.”
As a team, the Aggies were 21-for-74 from the field, shot just 15.4% from the 3-point line and hauled in 39 rebounds with 14 turnovers. Sophomore guard Solè Williams was the only A&M player to reach double digits with just 10 points, while junior G Kyndall Hunter put up nine points of her own.
For the Gamecocks, it felt like every shot that went up was nothing by nylon. They went 50.8% from the field and hit eight 3-pointers. The bench played a big role for the Garnet and Black, as they registered 53 points after there was pre-game uncertainty about how the team would respond to junior forward Ashlyn Watkins’s season-ending ACL injury.
A&M senior G Aicha Coulibaly jumped out to a quick start, scoring the first six points. In the SEC Tournament game against South Carolina last season, Coulibaly tallied 32 points in the loss and picked up where she left off, as Staley knew her presence would have an impact.
“Coulibaly is the one we haven’t solved,” Staley said before the game.
In the early going, it appeared that Staley was spot on in her remarks about Coulibaly, but the South Carolina defense eventually shut her down, allowing her to score only eight points and four rebounds on the night.
“Everything was a tough shot for her, and they just did a great job of being keyed in on her and not letting her get to her spots,” Taylor said.
Setting the tone for the Gamecocks early was freshman F Joyce Edwards, who went 4-of-5 from the field with 10 points in the first half. Assisting with a quick 10-0 run and another 7-0 run, senior G Te-Hina PaoPao and junior F Chloe Kitts also combined for eight points in the first quarter. In the opening period, the Gamecocks shot 62.5% from the field compared to the Aggies 27.8%.
“Joyce is someone I coached with USA basketball, so fortunately, and unfortunately, I knew exactly what she’s capable of,” Taylor said.
At that point, it looked like the game had gotten away from A&M after scoring only seven points in the second quarter and trailing by 20 points at halftime. After being down late to Ole Miss and climbing back to get a 60-58 victory, there was some optimism about what A&M’s offense could do in the second half. But a similar comeback was not in the cards.
The Aggies’ defense had no answer in the third quarter, giving up 26 points as Edwards finished the third quarter with nine straight points.
“In the third and fourth quarter, we were not aggressive at all,” Taylor said. “They did whatever they wanted to do, and that was very disappointing.”
In the fourth quarter, A&M played more consistently on offense and scored 22 points, the most they had scored in a quarter all afternoon.
“There were some possessions that were good,” Taylor said. “I thought our second group came in and played well.”
The road stretch will not get any easier for the Aggies, who will travel to the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday, Jan. 12, to take on No. 10 Oklahoma.
