Cold spells bookend A&M's uncharacteristic loss at Georgia, 54-50
Not enough early, and too little too late.
Texas A&M could not overcome first and fourth-quarter lulls as the Aggies (12-2, 0-1) suffered a 54-50 defeat at Georgia (10-4, 1-0) on Thursday night.
In addition to snapping A&M's 10-game win streak, the loss spoiled Joni Taylor's homecoming in Athens.
After seven seasons as Georgia's head coach, Taylor left the Peach State to take the helm in Aggieland two years ago.
While first- and fourth-quarter cold spells certainly hindered them, carelessness was ultimately the Aggies’ undoing.
A&M entered the night averaging just over 12 turnovers per game, but Georgia forced a whopping 22.
The Aggies also sputtered at the free-throw line, converting on just 3-of-7 attempts. Conversely, Georgia iced the game by going a perfect 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter alone and finished 9-for-10 overall.
Taylor’s return to Athens was a forgetful one from the jump.
In a frigid opening frame, the Aggies started 0-for-5 from the field. Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs built an instantaneous 8-0 advantage by converting four of their first five.
At the end of the first, Georgia led 26-18.
Still, A&M rallied back.
Behind brilliance from Endyia Rogers and steady production by Aicha Coulibaly, the Aggies trailed 36-35 at the break and even assumed a four-point lead on the former's conventional 3-point play with 2:50 remaining in the third.
However, the valiant comeback was not to be.
After a Coulibaly putback put A&M up 50-48, the Aggies failed to score over the final 6:05.
Playing just its fifth game away from Reed Arena on the year, A&M missed its final seven shots, including a point-blank layup by Janiah Barker.
Meanwhile, Javyn Nicholson provided just enough to push the home team across the finish line.
Nicholson led all scorers with 20 points to go along with 10 boards. Rogers and Coulibaly had 18 and 13, respectively.
Shockingly, Barker — a Marietta native — was limited to just four on 2-of-8 shooting. Lauren Ware went scoreless.
The loss should serve as an important lesson in Taylor’s curriculum while teaching her team “how” to win.
Further, the SEC gauntlet is actually here.
After delivering the most uncharacteristic of performances in the conference opener, A&M must recover from Thursday's shortcomings in short order.
Auburn comes to College Station on Sunday afternoon.
It's time to find out how tough Taylor's Aggies have truly become.
