The Aggies showed out in the Show Me State.
Entering Thursday’s contest, Texas A&M was winless in its last 12 SEC road games.
To find A&M’s last road conference win, you’d have to go back to Feb. 6, 2022, when the Aggies took down Kentucky 73-64 in overtime in Lexington.
That was 718 days ago, but don’t tell that to Joni Taylor and her squad.
On Thursday night in Columbia, this A&M (15-4, 3-3) team took down Missouri (11-9, 2-5), 69-67, to claim the first SEC road victory of the Taylor era. The night was highlighted by Lauren Ware’s 22 points. Sahara Jones and Tineya Hylton joined her in double figures with 14 and 10, respectively.
A&M got off to a red-hot start as Jones and Ware helped the visitors build a 15-6 lead in the first quarter. The Aggies employed a stifling defense that held Missouri to their lowest output in a quarter all season.
Holding the Tigers scoreless for over six minutes, the Maroon & White went on a 12-0 run and set the pace of play early.
However, A sloppy start to the second quarter saw both teams find their offense late, but the Aggies held on to their lead.
After a scoreless first quarter, Missouri super senior superstar Hayley Frank woke up in the second quarter, scoring nine of her 26 points to power the Tigers’ second-quarter surge.
Conversely, Jones picked up where she left off, playing significant minutes and nailing a crucial jumper to close the frame and give the Aggies a 31-25 halftime lead. Jones’ 11 first-half points led all scorers.
Heading into the game, the Aggies were 13-0 this season when leading at halftime.
Missouri put that streak to the test, but Lauren Ware aced it.
With Frank doing all she could, Ware answered every bucket with an even tougher bucket.
A back-and-forth third quarter saw the Aggies take a slim 48-44 lead into the final stanza.
After a slow start to the fourth, the Tigers hit back-to-back threes to take the lead, but Ware took matters into her own hands.
Putting the Aggies on her back, Ware’s eight most important points came in the fourth quarter.
With the final buzzer, both teams struggled to pull away.
Tied 65-65 with 49 seconds left, Aggies inbounded the ball, but Ware was called for a moving screen.
Desperate for a stop, Hylton — in her first start of the season tonight in place of the injured Janiah Barker — provided, deflecting a pass that led to a turnover.
After Jones missed an open 3-point attempt, the 5-foot-7 Hylton grabbed the rebound, got fouled and hit both free throws to give the Aggies a 67-65 lead.
A&M never looked back.
Hylton added two more at the line to ice the game as the Aggies found their mojo in CoMo.
Up next, A&M travels to Gainesville for a Sunday showdown with the Gators at 12 p.m. CT.
