Jones, Coulibaly & Rogers roll as Texas A&M torches Tennessee, 71-56

With freezing temperatures looming outside of Reed Arena, the Aggies brought the heat.

And once a fire starts to roar, it's hard to put out.

Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2 SEC) remained undefeated at home this season with a 71-56 beating of the Tennessee Lady Vols (10-6, 3-1 SEC) on Sunday in College Station.

"Tennessee is always a hard team to beat," Sahara Jones said. "They have a great non-conference schedule, and anytime they come into SEC (play), they wake up and go undefeated. Getting this win against Tennessee is a great win for us, but we have to keep continuing."

Building on the previous fire started from the unbeaten home streak, Jones was A&M's first spark of the day.

"It's what we see all the time. The ball went in the hole. Sahara is someone who comes out every single day and puts her hard hat on," A&M head coach Joni Taylor said of Jones. "When someone like that has a good night, you are really, really happy for them."

The senior had a hot touch, contributing nine of the Aggies' first 18 points, including a rare make beyond the arc.

"Well, as you guys know, I (was) 1-for-23 at the 3-point line,” Jones said. “I have not had the best year with my shooting. My teammates and coaches have confidence in me to knock down shots and keep telling me to shoot the ball.

"Today, I said, 'I'm going to let it go,' and that's what I did."

Only holding an 18-14 lead after the first, the Lady Vols were within striking distance, but getting too close to a flame can be dangerous.

A&M's scorching second quarter included an 11-0 run, and on the defensive end, the Aggies held strong, as Tennessee scored just eight points in this frame and 56 total, a season-low for the Lady Vols.

"We are a good defensive team, and that is what we pride ourselves on," Jones said. "Knowing our scouting, doing what we do and knowing our plays, we know what option they want and take it away."

Following halftime, A&M did not dial back the intensity, maintaining a consistent double-digit lead throughout the second half.

The home squad's reliable attack in the paint proved effective once again, outscoring the Lady Vols 44-22 down low. Additionally, the Aggies outrebounded Tennessee (43-34), who was previously 11th in the country in boards per game.

A&M earned its largest margin of victory, as Aicha Coulibaly drove in for a layup to bring the gap to 19. The transfer led the Aggies with 19 points. Endyia Rogers contributed 15 as well.

With a perfect home record for Taylor's Aggies, a fortress has been built at Reed Arena.

The logs are stacked. The fire is roaring.

But a big cold front is on the way — that front being top-ranked South Carolina.

"You protect home court. You are still undefeated at home," Taylor said. "We were down 1-2. We now evened it up. We have the No. 1 team in the country coming in on Sunday. It was really important to take care of home court today."

Sunday's 4 p.m. tip against the Gamecocks could turn the fire to ash or, perhaps, add gasoline to the flames.