Slide continues as Texas A&M falls in rivalry matchup at Reed, 70-50
A lack of productive possessions led to another lackluster loss for Texas A&M's women's basketball.
No. 5 Texas (22-2, 8-1 SEC) controlled Sunday afternoon's edition of the Lone Star Showdown, 70-50, as the Longhorns fired at a 52.5 clip from the field to push the Aggies (10-11, 3-6) below .500.
Down three players, A&M once again only had eight available. Learning how to play without star guard Aicha Coulibaly, the Aggies' bursts of offense were never consistent.
"We know what we are supposed to do regardless if we have five people, 10 people, 15 people," forward Lauren Ware said. "We know that. Joni (Taylor) knows that. Just executing regardless of how many people we have is our job."
Averaging 85.3 points a game, the Longhorns were held to just 70, but it was how efficient the visitors were that led to Aggie disappointment. Texas only put up three more shots than A&M (59-56) yet saw 10 more buckets fall.
A strong presence around the rim bolstered the Texas' offensive showing. A&M struggled to defend the paint, and Ware found herself in early foul trouble because of it.
"I need to stop fouling," Ware said. "I think that put us in a tough position as a team. I take responsibility for that. We can't afford to have players in foul trouble with only three subs on the bench.”
With Ware and Solè Williams on the bench with two fouls, Texas jumped out to a quick 18-7 lead. Additionally, Texas' full-court press caused problems for A&M initially with 16 points off of turnovers.
"We got it straightened up," Taylor said. "With AC out, everybody shifted. Lauren is the four. Sahara (Jones) is the three. Normally, Sahara is the four, and she takes the ball out. This was Lauren's first time taking it out against pressure since AC's been out. She was a bit rushed. We made a switch."
The Aggies made adjustments when they needed to. They limited mistakes in the second half. The ball was distributed more. The rebounding battle was only lost by one.
But with a 17-point lead at the half, Texas already built up the cushion they needed.
"There are times I thought we had tremendous fight," Taylor said. "We wanted to not turn the ball over. We did that. We wanted to stay close rebounding. We lost that battle by one. We had 18 offensive rebounds. There are things there that show we are fighting.
“Texas is really good, and every time we made a mistake, they capitalized on it."
On the floor the entire third quarter, Ware provided a flicker of a spark with a 10-point second half. However, any punch the Aggies threw was immediately answered.
Four Longhorns finished in double-digits, including Madison Booker, who poured in 17 points and 13 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass.
A&M remained aggressive and showed tenacity throughout, yet the lack of personnel remains a glaring issue for Taylor's Aggies.
In a league littered with talent and depth, A&M will continue to be tested with just seven regular-season games remaining.
The Aggies' next opportunity to end their slide is Thursday, Feb. 6, against Auburn. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.