Taylor talks defense, 'identity' after Coulibaly's season-ending injury

Texas A&M women's basketball head coach Joni Taylor joined Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live to discuss Aicha Coulibaly's injury ahead of Thursday's Auburn matchup. Trying to find their identity without AC, Taylor shares what the Ags are working on as they face a tough schedule.

Key notes from Joni Taylor interview

• The last time we talked, we had just beat Kentucky, and we were going to play LSU. We were in Baton Rouge playing LSU tooth and nail. Towards the last two minutes of the quarter, Aicha Coulibaly had a knee injury. She went down and did not finish the game.
   
• We went on to battle LSU really well and held them to 64 points on their home floor and reunion night. They average 97 points a game. In the next game, they put up 107 and fell just short.
   
• We found out that Coulibaly had a season-ending knee injury, which is devastating because she's a fifth-year senior. Her time is done at Texas A&M as far as we know. She's having surgery tomorrow, reconstructive surgery in Houston, and then she'll go about the process of making a full recovery.
   
• We are making sure Coulibaly is in a good space physically and mentally. This isn't how she wanted her career to end. The future is unknown as it relates to her getting drafted and playing professionally. We are focused on making sure she is in a good place.
   
• As far as the team goes, we have had two games since then, and we are trying to find our identity without Coulibaly. She was our leading scorer, our second-leading rebounder and our best defender. We lost to Arkansas in Fayetteville, and then we had Texas at home Sunday and held them to 70 points while they averaged 87.
   
• We've got to figure out how to score. We've missed some opportunities. We've had 18 offensive rebounds. We didn't convert those into second-chance points, and we missed some free throws. We can't pass up opportunities like that. We've got to not feel pressured by one person to carry her load because one person can't replace what Coulibaly does. As a committee, we have to each chip in and take on some responsibility in all those areas where she led us. That includes our toughness, our grit and our backbone.
   
• As you said, we had some injuries early on, none of them season-ending, so we finally got in a groove and got people back practicing and some continuity. We won three games in a row.
   
• Our spirits are high. We have a good resolve to us. We were off yesterday. I'll see them today, and we'll start attacking Auburn. More importantly, we’re really focusing on us because the other thing that this does is that now everybody is in a different seat at the table than they were before. We're still trying to figure that out.
   
• You have to have a short-term memory. We still have a lot of SEC left to play this month. We go to Auburn, who is another team that is stingy defensively. They've got a player, DeYona Gaston, who just dropped 30 on South Carolina on Sunday. Anytime anyone drops 30 on South Carolina, they get your attention because they are a really good defensive team as well. She has the best usage rate out of anyone in our conference. That means the ball is in her hands. Her team relies on her more than any other person in our conference. We've got to do a really good job of defending her and making things tough for her.
   
• We come back home and play Missouri on Sunday. That is our Breast Cancer Awareness game. We partner with the Pink Alliance and the Kay Yow fund. We will have our pink uniforms on for that. We will recognize survivors at halftime. In the last 24 hours leading up to the game, for every t-shirt that is bought, I will match that amount of money and donate it to the Pink Alliance and the Kay Yow fund. So go get your pink shirts. They are $10. We need to beat the hell out of Breast Cancer. We are excited to contribute, and the money that is raised will go directly to those who are battling this terrible disease.
   
• Our motto is "defense travels" because there are going to be some nights where we do everything right, but the ball doesn't bounce our way. If we don't play defense in this league, you don't stand a chance. The defense will give you a chance, and it'll keep you in it whether you're having a good night or not offensively.
   
• I haven't looked at the numbers since our game on Sunday, but we were second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense and third in the conference in field goal defense, leading up to last week's games, and so that's something that we pride ourselves on. Our players see those numbers and the results from those numbers, and it's something that we hit home on as much as possible. It's another way for us to talk about gold medal plays and gold medal habits. We try to celebrate those things on the defensive end as well.