Winning streak reaches five as Joni Taylor's Aggies beat Kansas, 63-52

It’s good to be home.

It’s great to be 4-0 at home.

An explosive fourth quarter powered Texas A&M to the finish line at Reed Arena as the Aggies earned their biggest non-conference win of the season on Sunday against Kansas, 63-52. 

The Aggies started slow, taking nearly four minutes for Aicha Coulibaly to finally take the lid off the basket. Her only points in the game broke the Aggies' 0-for-7 start from the field. 

The Jayhawks started even slower. Adding up their frequent flyer miles, Kansas traveled on their first three possessions. The Aggies forced six Jayhawk turnovers in the first six minutes. 

The miserable start quickly turned into back-and-forth action as Endyia Rogers hit her first of a couple 3-pointers, and Janiah Barker scored five straight points at the end of the first quarter to give the Aggies a 12-11 lead.

Chris Swann, TexAgs

A&M has now won three straight against non-SEC Power 5 teams for the first time since 2015. 

The Jayhawks held the Aggies scoreless for over four minutes in the second quarter and built a 22-18 lead.

However, the Aggies sparked a 6-0 run, with Barker knocking down her second triple to end the first half, 24-22. The rest of the Aggies were a combined 1-from-9 from 3-point land. 

Barker’s first-half performance set the tone for what transpired in the second. Rogers picked up where Barker left off, finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds. 

“She’s so dangerous because she’s a three-level scorer,” A&M head coach Joni Taylor said of Rogers. “We spread the floor out in the third and fourth, put the ball in her hands, and she made the right decisions.”

With Kansas’ Taiyanna Jackson in foul trouble in the third, A&M went to work in the paint, grabbing eight rebounds in the first five minutes and scoring six of their first nine points down low.

Additionally, Rogers began to heat up outside of the arc, hitting three of four 3-pointers.

“I knew I had to come out really aggressive,” Rogers said. “I had to play my game because they’re going to try to take everything that I do well away.”

But the Jayhawks wouldn’t go quietly.

Kansas hit three triples in a row, and an 8-3 run tied the game at 39. A frantic end to the third quarter left both teams squarely in the mix to take over the fourth quarter, with A&M leading 41-39.

Despite shooting 64 percent from the free-throw line, Barker and Rogers took matters into their own hands.

The Aggies went on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter as the duo traded buckets and combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Aggies past their former Big-12 rival.

“We wanted to win,” Barker said. “I asked the team in the huddle, ‘How bad do we want this win?’ We went out there and did it, and I’m so happy and proud of this team.”

Taylor’s squad is now 7-1 and has already matched their regular season win total from last season. They are now two games away from matching their win total from all of last season.

“For us, it’s about taking the next step,” Taylor said. “And that’s what we had in front of us today. It’ll be somebody else on Wednesday. It’ll be somebody else after that. We’ve got to continue to move the needle.”

Looking to improve their home record, Texas A&M will host Lamar on Dec. 6 at 11 a.m.