Dominant defensive effort pushes Texas A&M past No. 11 Wildcats

A complete defensive effort.

Texas A&M women's basketball secured arguably the biggest win during the Joni Taylor era in Aggieland, calming No. 11 Kentucky, 61-55.

With the fewest points allowed against a ranked opponent since the 2020-21 season, the Aggies snapped the Wildcats’ nine-game winning streak. 

"We have talked a lot about putting four quarters together," Taylor said. "Defensively, I think we did that. I felt it in practice. We are starting to catch up. We are starting to figure things out and grow up."

Aicha Coulibaly posted a game-high 21 points in the victory, recording seven in the first frame. A&M's leading scorer poured in 20-plus points for the fourth time this year.

"It felt great," Coulibaly said. "Most of the time, I come alive in the third or fourth quarter. I knew in these type of games, I can't do that. I started being aggressive and let my shot come to me. It just started falling, and I kept shooting."

A strong defensive performance, A&M's efforts started from the jump. The Wildcats missed their first eight shots taken, firing a 22.2 percent clip in the opening frame. Down the stretch, the Aggies stepped up once again to limit Kentucky to 13.3 percent in the final frame. 

With a 46-42 lead entering the fourth quarter, A&M used a 13-3 run to overcome the deficit and secure back-to-back victories. 

Known as a second-half team throughout SEC play, A&M showed fight for a complete 40 minutes. Kentucky's push in the third quarter built up a 10-point lead, but the upset-minded Aggies did not relent. 

Averaging 79.8 points per game, A&M forced Kentucky to play their game as the slower style complimented A&M's paint presence with 30 points inside the lane.

"We just didn't do some of the little things to overcome the bad shooting," Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks said. "That is something we will have to learn. The game was close down the stretch. They made some big shots, and we missed opportunities.

"I don't think we imposed our will or the way we wanted to play."

In the opposite paint, Lauren Ware left her mark, coming up with four rejections, including a big one in the final minutes. With only six triple attempts in two years at A&M, Ware took an ill-advised shot from deep yet hustled back to swat down a layup from Georgia Amoore in transition. 

"Immediately when I took that shot, I turned to look at Joni and saw her screaming, ‘Lauren! Why did you do that?,'” Ware said. “I'm not going to lie. I was feeling myself a little bit. I went back and knew I needed to make up for what I just did.”

"When a player can make a mistake and immediately turn around that same possession and get it back? It's impressive." Taylor said.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Taliyah Parker finished Thursday night’s game with nine points off the bench, shooting 4-for-4 from the field. 

Entering the contest as the nation's best blocking team, the Wildcats did not deny any A&M shots, while the Aggies stuffed six. 

In addition, the Aggies held the Wildcats to a microscopic 5.6 percent from beyond the arc. Improvement was made all around as A&M tied the fewest number of turnovers this year with 12.

Taliyah Parker provided needed contributions with three straight buckets in the third to trigger the comeback, and Solè Williams hit a late triple to take the lead. From there, the Aggies never looked back. 

"It's great. We need that," Ware said. "When we get that spark from them off the bench, it means so much to our team. It relieves pressure off AC."

Up next, the Aggies will travel to Baton Rouge to face No. 5 LSU on Sunday, January 26. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT.