The Texas A&M Aggies hit the Gary Blair Court with an electric performance against the University of North Texas at Reed Arena on Sunday, Nov. 12.
In their second win of the season, the Aggies outscored the Mean Green 74-55.
The team rebuilt in the off season as coach Joni Taylor brought in four transfers, three of whom made up the starting five. The lineup included graduate guard Endyia Rogers, senior guard Aicha Coulibaly, redshirt junior forward Lauren Ware and two returners in sophomore forward Janiyah Barker and senior guard Sahara Jones.
The Aggies took the lead early, ending the first quarter with a 29-13 advantage.
Sophomore guard Sydney Bowles subbed in under the five minute mark with a spark, instantly hitting a three pointer to add to the Aggies lead. At the end of the quarter, Bowles stole the ball from graduate forward DesiRay Kernal and passed it to Barker under the goal for a layup.
In the second quarter, senior guard Kay Kay Green dominated on defense, stopping the offensive scheme of the Mean Green and grabbing two steals.
A series of fouls committed by redshirt freshman guard Desiree Wooten and coach Jason Burton for North Texas added to the Aggies momentum and sent Rogers to the free throw line to increase the lead to 38-13.
North Texas opened the third quarter with seven straight points and cut A&M’s lead to 22 points. The Aggies went on a scoring drought and could only find 10 points throughout the quarter.
“We missed some shots we normally don’t miss,” Taylor said. “North Texas came out and won the third and fourth quarter.”
The Aggies kept the lead throughout the fourth quarter but the scoring trouble continued. Climbing back on the other end of the court was the Mean Green who outshot the Aggies 17-12 in the third quarter and 16-13 in the fourth quarter.
“We need to make sure we put four quarters together,” Barker said. “In the second half, they outscored us both quarters so it is something we need to work on as a team.”
Despite the efforts of North Texas, the fourth quarter was sealed by Rogers with a 3-point jumpshot.
The win was a team effort with four of the starters ending in double digits. Barker led with 18 points, Coulibaly followed with 14 points, Rogers recorded 12 points and Jones had 10 points of her own. Green also added a career high of five steals.
“I feel pretty good about this team,” Coulibaly said. “Putting it all together, every game matters everyday and we want to keep improving.”
The Aggies will have their first road game of the season Thursday, Nov. 16 against Purdue with tip off set for 6 p.m.
“I’m excited this will be a great road test for us,” Taylor said. “It’s why we built the schedule the way that we did. Purdue has a really good team so I’m excited about the opportunity to see what we look like on the road against another power five team.”