The Aggies are still searching for a conference win after falling to the Tennessee Lady Vols, 62-50, Thursday night, Jan. 12. The women’s basketball team has struggled this season and has lost its last six games.
Offense has been a consistent missing component for A&M as the team has struggled with shooting and has had a limited rotation of seven players with freshman forward Janiah Barker, sophomore guard Tineya Hylton and senior center Sydnee Roby out with injuries.
“Mental toughness was our only challenge, we can’t blame it on fatigue and we can’t blame it on being tired,” graduate guard Aaliyah Patty said. “With seven people it’s like we have to keep going.”
The Aggies shared the ball well but still could not break out of their scoring slump shooting only 30% from the field with free throws being the key to keeping them in the game, as they shot 86% from the line.
An impressive defensive performance from the Aggies held the Lady Vols to its second lowest scoring game of the season and led to 20 forced turnovers.
Even with the maroon and white locking in defensively, Tennessee had no trouble finding its offense. The Lady Vols capitalized on second chance points, 13 total and were led in scoring by an electric Rickea Jackson who finished the game with 22 points.
Freshman guard Sydney Bowles and graduate forward Aaliyah Patty were in double digits for the Aggies, both with 12 points. Freshman guard Mya Petticord brought a spark from the bench for the Fightin’ Farmers, adding seven points of her own.
Foul trouble for sophomores forward Jada Malone, guard Eriny Kindred and Patty left the paint wide open, allowing Tennessee to score 44 points under the goal.
A&M fought hard despite only having the lead once for a short period of time in the first quarter. The Aggies never gave up and came just within six points of the Lady Vols late in the fourth quarter after Patty sank a 3-pointer off of a turnover to get Reed Arena fired up and standing.
Patty’s attempts to get a run going for the Aggies were dismantled when the team followed with two careless fouls to return the momentum to the Lady Vols and ultimately end the game.
“We’re getting better,” coach Joni Taylor said. “We have been fighting and I just can’t say enough how proud I am of our seven that are locking in. I’m proud of their toughness, their fight and their belief in each other.”
The Aggies will return to Reed Arena Sunday, Jan. 15, as the search for a conference win continues. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.