Sleepy second-half sinks Texas A&M at No. 15 West Virginia, 83-62
Third-quarter woes overwhelmed Texas A&M as No. 15 West Virginia cruised to an 83-62 victory at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
Just a four-point game at halftime, it was a non-conference outing that slipped right through the fingers of Joni Taylor's Aggies.
Previous defensive concerns through the year's first three games became apparent in the third frame after an efficient first half.
Early on, the Aggies hung around with the nation’s 15th-ranked team, holding a slight advantage from the field, firing at a 53 percent clip compared to the Mountaineers' 42.
Through 20 minutes, Solè Williams led the Aggies, posting nine points and shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. Decreasing West Virginia's lead to just two right before halftime, A&M had a real shot to come out and make some noise against a top-15 opponent.
However, the visiting squad was quickly silenced. In fact, A&M failed to ever take the lead.
The Aggies gave up 14 unanswered points to begin the third quarter, not scoring until 4:35 remained in the frame.
The lapses on both ends of the court allowed the Mountaineers to take a 24-point lead as their stars shined.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team selection JJ Quinerly finished with 27 points, and Kylee Blacksten shot a lethal 71 percent from 3-point range.
The Aggies lacked an answer in the third, scoring just seven points in the 10-minute quarter.
Attempting to make up for its third-quarter inefficiencies, Aicha Coulibaly posted 15 in the fourth to cut down the Mountaineers' advantage to just 21.
Although A&M outscored West Virginia in the final frame, Coulibaly's late push was far from enough to suppress the home squad's fiery offensive outing.
Looking to hang their hat on defense each year, Taylor's 2024-25 squad has struggled to find an identity on that front, especially on Friday night.
West Virginia shot at a 50 percent clip from the field and 60 percent behind the arc. In addition, A&M turned the ball over 20 times in their first road loss of the year.
A&M looks to return to the win column against Northwestern State on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT back at Reed Arena.