Texas A&M’s women’s basketball is midway through the season, and there are some accomplishments to look back on — as well as a few things the team can do to maximize success, especially with star senior guard Aicha Coulibaly now out for the remainder of the season due to injury and a matchup against top-five Texas on the horizon.
The Maroon and White had a rocky start to the season after a home-opener loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi where they shot 27.3% from the field and 12% from beyond the arc. After the devastating loss in front of its home crowd, the Aggies went on to win their next two games against UTSA and Western Michigan as they got settled.
Graduate G Sahara Jones shone in both these games with 16 points leading A&M into its first real challenge of the season, a road bout with then-No. 15 West Virginia.
The Aggies never obtained the lead against the Mountaineers, and a brutal beatdown in the third quarter put this game away for West Virginia. Coming out of halftime, A&M was only down 33-29 until the Mountaineers outscored it 27-7 in the third. Even after a 21-point performance from Coulibaly, the Fightin’ Farmers were never able to come back as they recorded their first road loss of the season.
Aggies had a powerhouse of a conference schedule with four ranked teams in a row to begin SEC play. In their first four conference games, the Aggies went 1-3 after losing to then-No. 15 Tennessee, No. 2 South Carolina and No. 10 Oklahoma. A&M also faced No. 25 Ole Miss at home in Reed Arena, where sophomore G Solé Williams had a season-high 18-point game, ultimately leading the Aggies to a 60-58 win in front of their home crowd.
A&M has turned it on lately, though, with a stellar performance against No. 11 Kentucky in its last home action. A couple of standout performances from Coulibaly and Jones lead the Aggies to the Wildcat upset.
Coulibaly led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds, but the 12th Man shouldn’t look past Jones’ 10 rebounds — three offensive and seven defensive — that ultimately allowed the Aggies to gain much-needed extra possessions.
The Maroon and White currently sit with a 10-9 record, and a 3-4 mark in the SEC. The Aggies have a mixed conference schedule coming up with their next game against Arkansas on the road, as they hope to get their first road win this season. The Fightin’ Farmers have won four of the last five matchups against the Razorbacks.
With only one remaining ranked team on their schedule, A&M has an opportunity to add more wins to their record. The Aggies need to continue to perform on defense if they want to pull off more wins. In their win against Kentucky, the Aggies had 38 total rebounds, with 32 of them being defensive, as well as 6 blocks and 4 steals.
Looking ahead, A&M’s last remaining ranked matchup is against its rival, No. 5 Texas, who they take on at home in Reed Arena on Sunday. The 12th Man will play a vital part in this game, with Reed’s atmosphere always affecting the players and helping them BTHO Texas. With A&M’s leading scorer and veteran player Coulibaly out for the season with a knee injury, someone else will have to step up to the plate.
The Aggies have a huge challenge this weekend against the Longhorns, who are 20-2 in the season and currently on a four-game win streak.
The Maroon and White’s defense should watch out for sophomore Forward Madison Booker, who’s averaging 16.1 points per game, as well as senior F Taylor Jones, who leads the team in rebounds and field goal percentage, 65.2%. For the Aggies to be successful in this matchup, they will need to rebound lights out and hold possession of the ball as much as possible. The Aggies have been great at defending the backboard led by Sahara Jones who averages 7 rebounds a game and had a season high of 13 earlier this season against Western Michigan.
Another valuable Aggie to look for is senior F Lauren Ware, who is currently averaging 6.9 rebounds per game as well as 1.9 blocks. Ware is such an asset to this A&M defense with 94 defensive rebounds on the season, looking to beat her 154 rebounds from last season. The matchup between Ware and Jones should be extremely entertaining and vital for a home win.
The Aggies have nine games remaining in the regular season, which all hold weight as the NCAA Tournament approaches. In order to punch its ticket, A&M needs to play tough for the next four weeks and prove that it is a force to be reckoned with. The Maroon and White are headed to Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
