A&M rides season-high shooting performance to victory over Auburn
Game #21: Texas A&M 81, Auburn 63
Records: Texas A&M (10-11, 3-9), Auburn (13-13, 2-10)
Box Score
Had to have it.
Desperation met opportunity on Sunday, and Texas A&M made sure not to waste it, securing a must-have win over Auburn inside Reed Arena, 81-63.
Facing a fellow cellar-dweller in the SEC, the Aggies' postseason hopes are already on life support, but they would have flatlined without a win.
A&M responded by catching fire beyond the arc as they shot a season-high 50 percent from deep.
"It was nice to see," Ny'Ceara Pryor said. "That's a testament to the work we've put in. Day in and day out, we just get in the gym. Win, lose or draw."
From the field, the Aggies also logged a season-best 56 percent and shot at a perfect clip from the charity stripe.
"We need to repeat that formula," A&M head coach Joni Taylor said. "We've talked about margins and areas where we can be really good... Free throws is an area where the margins have to tip in our favor."
Fatmata Janneh led the way with a double-double, recording 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win, with the bulk of her work coming in the first half.
A&M's leader in scoring, assists and steals, Pryor remained the engine for the Aggies, finishing with a double-double of her own, contributing 13 points and 11 assists.
A&M used a 21-9 second quarter to take a lead and never looked back. Six triples in the second half allowed the lead to swell.
However, the Maroon & White saw their fair share of triples go in the opposing basket early on.
The Tigers hit five 3-pointers in the opening stanza while the Aggies made one. Auburn's hot hand created a slight advantage at the first break as A'riel Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer to conclude the first quarter, 22-19.
From that point, the Aggies made adjustments and started knocking down 3-balls of their own.
"Anybody in this league can knock down an open shot, so we made sure that on the catch, we were there on the shot, so they didn't get as many 3-pointers off," Pryor said.
In the initial minutes, Janae Kent appeared to be the only one who could neutralize Auburn's deep shooting, sinking a pair of 3-pointers in the first half. The second half is when Kent's teammates joined in on the fun behind the arc.
Kent was one of six Aggies to cash in from deep. She was also one of four to finish in double figures in Sunday's win.
As for Auburn, the Tigers' leading scorer proved to be ineffective against the Aggies as the talented freshman forward Harissoum Coulibaly totaled just three points.
"She is a freshman who is going to be really, really good in our league," Taylor said. "We made her look normal today because we were able to take the right shot and get back and set our defense to have 10 eyes on the basketball where she and Mya (Petticord) couldn't create for themselves or other people."
A former A&M guard, Petticord didn't have much success in her return to Reed Arena, finishing with six points. Kaitlyn Duhon made the most significant contribution with 23.
Now 10-11 overall and 3-9 in SEC play, the Aggies will head on the road to face a top-25 Tennessee team that just lost a heartbreaker to Texas.
With four regular-season games remaining, Taylor's team needs to stack wins if they want to see their season extend into March.
"We need wins like these," Lauren Ware said. "As much as were trying to stay focused and in the now, we are looking at the bigger picture as well. We need these wins to make the (NCAA) Tournament."
