A&M plagued by early shooting woes in road loss to No. 10 Oklahoma
Early shooting woes overwhelmed Texas A&M (8-8, 1-3 SEC) in Sunday's 77-62 loss to No. 10 Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2) in Norman, OK.
Despite a slight second-half push, A&M's shot an anemic 18.9 percent from the field in the first half, leading to the low scoring output and back-to-back losses for Joni Taylor's Aggies.
Competing against its fourth top-25 team in 11 days, similar problems arose for the Aggies in all four contests.
Lengthy scoring droughts, failure to finish at the rim and poor transition defense have been the thorns in A&M's side as of late.
Scoring 10 as a team in the first quarter, A&M failed to put pressure on 6-foot-4 forward Raegan Beers early, who had 10 points herself in the 10-minute frame.
Behind Beers, Oklahoma cruised to victory. After posting 16 points in 16 minutes of play, the Wooden Award Top 25 Midseason Watch List member suffered an apparent shoulder injury and left the game. She did not return.
Although A&M shrunk the gap when Beers was sidelined, the routine of falling behind is not a recipe for success. In their last four conference contests, the Aggies have not led at halftime and own a lackluster 1-3 record during that stretch.
Aicha Coulibaly led the Aggies' offensive efforts, providing a seven-point third quarter to trim the 21-point deficit. Sahara Jones earned six trips to the charity stripe yet shot 1-for-6 to finish with just 11 points.
With Oklahoma's star out, there were opportunities for A&M to make it a ballgame, but a lack of urgency appeared prevalent. Coulibaly's layup with 3:55 remaining cut the differential to 14, but what seemed to be a surge short-circuited as the clock winded down.
Despite the lack of productive numbers from the field, A&M fought its way to the free-throw line 29 times, converting at a 79.3 clip.
Leading from the opening minute to the last, 11 different Sooners scored, which proved what a strong bench presence can provide in a supremely strong SEC.
Up next, the Aggies will play their first unranked conference opponent when Georgia comes to College Station on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. CT.