Credit to Brandon Collins | Associate Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M women’s basketball team dropped a 49-45 decision to the Vanderbilt Commodores Thursday evening inside Reed Arena.
Texas A&M (18-6, 5-6 SEC) was led by a stellar performance by Aicha Coulibaly. The senior guard logged a season-high 20 points on 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting from the field.
Tineya Hylton registered career highs with seven rebounds and seven assists. Janiah Barker added nine points and five rebounds. Sahara Jones pulled down a season-best nine rebounds to go with six points.
The defenses locked down in the first quarter with Vanderbilt holding an 11-9 advantage at the first intermission. Vanderbilt (19-7, 6-6 SEC) was up 9-2, but Janiah Barker’s layup at the midway point sparked a Texas A&M surge. The Aggies held Vandy to 1-of-9 (11.1%) shooting from the field to close out the period.
The Commodores opened the second frame on a 10-2 run to inflate their cushion to 21-10 at the 6:24 mark. Coulibaly keyed a 9-0 response with a 3-pointer, layup and free throw to shave the deficit to 21-19 with 2:31 left in the period. Vanderbilt’s Justine Pissott scored five points down the stretch to put the Commodores up 26-20 at halftime.
The defensive battle continued into the third quarter as Texas A&M fought back to take its first lead of the game. Coulibaly made a layup at the 5:53 mark to nudge the Aggies ahead, 31-30. Four minutes later, her 3-pointer put Texas A&M up 34-33 before Vanderbilt closed out the scoring for a 36-34 lead at the last break.
The Aggies’ defense limited Vanderbilt to 1-of-7 from the field and three turnovers in the first 6:24 of the fourth quarter. The clamp down allowed Texas A&M to go on an 11-3 burst, staking claim to a six-point lead before the Aggies fell victim to a 10-0 run by the Commodores in the final 3:06 of the game. Vanderbilt erased a 45-39 deficit with the surge to win the ballgame.
Up Next
The Aggies will return to the hardwood on Monday, Feb. 19 versus No. 13 LSU at 6 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M is now 10-7 against Vanderbilt all-time.
Joni Taylor’s career record falls to 166-102 all-time and to 26-27 in her two seasons with the Aggies.
TEAM NOTES
Texas A&M held Vanderbilt to its lowest scoring game of the season, letting up only 49 points. Vandy’s previous low was 51 versus Butler on Dec. 7, 2023.
The Aggie defense held the Commodores to just 32.1% (18-56) shooting from the field.
Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Kay Kay Green, Aicha Coulibaly, Sahara Jones, Janiah Barker and Lauren Ware for the first time this season (0-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Aicha Coulibaly
Scored a career-high 20 points on 8-14 (57.1%) from the field.
Tineya Hylton
Recorded a career-highs in assists (7) and rebounds (7).
Matched her career-high in steals with three.
Sahara Jones
Hauled in a season-high nine rebounds.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On the turnovers down the stretch…
“They were unforced, rushed. We’ve got to manage the game better at that point. We didn’t connect on some fast break opportunities. We also have to know when to pull it out and make them guard us. We had done a good job of taking the lead and we were running some stuff that they had struggled in the fourth quarter to defend and then we just turned it over. Then they went on a 10-0 run to finish the game.”
On Aicha Coulibaly’s performance…
“I thought she was really good. We just kept saying to her in the very beginning that it’s going to open up, just keep cutting and being patient. Vanderbilt did a really good job of trying to pack the paint and I thought she stayed active. She did a good job of coming to the basketball and catching it in that nail. She’s really dangerous when she gets to that elbow spot.”