Joni Taylor's Aggies continue SEC grind, playing three games this week

Texas A&M's head women's basketball coach, Joni Taylor, joined Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live following a 39-point loss to Alabama. Before hosting Florida on Thursday, Taylor spoke on the Aggies' jam-packed week, playing three games in seven days.

Key notes from Joni Taylor interview

• It has been a grind. Our conversations are about pushing through, figuring things out and trying not to shoot ourselves in the foot. We had another injury in last night's game to Amirah Abdur-Rahim, so we are trying to manage their bodies and get ready this week.
   
• It's a grind. We tell our teams that everybody has a three-game week. We can only control our response to it. We are no different from anybody else, we all have had three-game weeks. It's about how we approach it. Your mentality is your reality. 
   
• We have game goals for every game. One of our game goals was to have more offensive rebounds. We did that last night. One of our game goals was to have 14 or fewer turnovers, and we had 15, so we were one off our game goal, but we had nine in the first half. Game goals are one of the ways we measure success despite wins or losses. We also talk about playing ahead or behind in possessions. We played behind Alabama defensively all game long. On offense, I think we played ahead in the third and fourth quarter and behind in the first and second quarters. Those are the conversations we have to measure to see where we are.
   
• It's challenging. We always say what's your next best play. We try and talk about the reason that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. We have to be focused on what's in front of us. One possession can't turn into three or four bad possessions. There's so much pressure on our students athletes with social media, TV, things that have helped grow our game, but they are challenges for them. We are trying to work our mental muscles and not just our physical ones.
   
• Lauren Ware is an incredible leader for us with her voice. Aicha Coulibaly was obviously our leader by example. We followed her example. Sahara Jones has led throughout the year. We have had people here and there, but not consistently. 
   
• Jada Malone played great. Jada does what she does. She is a quiet one who demands the ball and posts up. I thought she did a great job with energy and commanding the post presence. It's been difficult because teams have packed the paint against us. She was ahead of her possessions. It paid off for her.
   
• I talk to God, Buzz Williams and my husband Darius provides great perspective. He was in this league for a long time. I have great mentors around me. I talk to Trisha Ford and bounce some things off of her. We have great coaches on this campus. Mike Elko is one who reaches out on a regular basis, too. I lean on God heavily and the leaders of our game.
   
• Florida is elite in transition. They will be the best team we have played this season, moving fast. We need to do a great job at forcing them into a half-court game. A success for us would be for them to play 10 and under on the shot clock. They are so elite at scoring at the top of the shot clock. We need to worry about playing ahead defensively, and that needs to be our primary goal. I think we need to be able to move the ball around and cut to not be stagnant. They don’t handle cuts very well. 
   
• I would love to press, but with our numbers, I don't know if that is something we can sustain. Our first action will likely be to send two people back. We'll play around with a few things today and tomorrow before the game.