Late rally not enough as Taylor & Co. fall to Nebraska in heartbreaker

Press conference videos courtesy of the NCAA

March is a month of many emotions.

But for many, it ends in heartbreak.

The 11-seeded Texas A&M women’s basketball team overcame a 17-point deficit only to fall by two against the 6-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon, 61-59.

“Tough, tough game,” A&M head coach Joni Taylor said. “Really proud of our team's fight to come back and take the lead. Being down as much as we were going into halftime and the third quarter, we have had a sense of resilience and fight all year long.”

Aicha Coulibaly's 26-point outburst dug A&M out of a first-half hole. Though, ultimately, the closing moments doomed the Aggies.

Coulibaly’s 3-point play with 17 seconds to go gave the Aggies their first and only lead in the game. Then Nebraska’s Logan Nissley hit two free throws on the other end.

Down 60-59 with three seconds left, Janiah Barker drove into the paint searching for a foul as she turned it over. The Huskers went back to the charity stripe and hit one more. 

1.4 seconds was all that remained, and one misfired shot ended Joni Taylor’s second season in Aggieland. 

“That locker room is really hurting right now, and I feel for them, but I would rather see them hurting and be motivated to come back rather than to have a lack of empathy or care,” Taylor said.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Aggies shouldn’t hang their heads too low. 

A&M was without starting forward Lauren Ware, who was sidelined with an ankle sprain. The Maroon & White fought their way back from a sizable deficit as Coulibaly led the charge. 

“In the third and fourth, my team trusted me,” Coulibaly said. “They believed in me. They kept telling me to keep shooting. I had my confidence.”

Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double as she provided A&M a much-needed spark after a woeful first half.

Barker initially emerged as A&M’s sole scoring threat in the paint, but three fouls halfway through the second quarter put her on the bench. 

© Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard

Behind Coulibaly and Barker, Kay Kay Green chipped in nine points and four assists for Texas A&M.

Down two bodies in the paint, Texas A&M looked for answers from afar.

The Aggies opted for more deep balls than normal — attempting 15 3-pointers but only hitting four in the first half.

A choppy offensive showing slowly turned stagnant in the second quarter as the Maroon & White went the final 3:51 of the half without a bucket. 

Luckily, the Huskers went through a similar lull with a 3:35 scoring drought but still led 27-20 at the half. 

An 8-0 run from Coulibaly was A&M’s boost heading into the fourth, trailing by just ten. 

But it came down to one final bucket.

“I don't want to lose sight of the steps we made from year one to year two in our program,” Taylor said. “You are looking at a team who won two conference games last year. Nine games total. In year two, we are sitting here at the NCAA Tournament.”

A heart-aching finish is never the way a team wants to go out.

But their valiant comeback effort should serve as a reminder of all the challenges Taylor’s second-year squad persevered through.