News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Sahara Jones’ 12 second-half points powered the Texas A&M women’s basketball team to a 55-51 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Thursday inside Reed Arena.
Jones made a layup with 2:54 remaining in the game, breaking a 48-48 stalemate. The Maroon & White held off UTSA (0-1) down the stretch to triumph in front of 7,507 fans, including nearly 5,000 elementary school children.
Despite holding the lead for over 30 minutes, the game was a battle for Texas A&M (1-1) with the contest tied on seven occasions and four lead changes.
Jones paced the Aggies with 16 points, two shy of her career high. She added six rebounds and two assists. Lauren Ware stuffed the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. Aicha Coulibaly added seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
A 3-pointer by Kyndall Hunter keyed a 9-2 run for the Aggies as they built a 14-6 cushion at the 1:57 mark of the first quarter. A late UTSA surge to close out the quarter shaved the A&M margin to 15-12 at the first break.
Following a low-scoring second quarter, the Maroon & White went into the intermission with a 26-22 advantage. Coulibaly led the Aggies with seven points and four rebounds in the first half.
After struggling the opening half of the third quarter, Texas A&M surged late to salvage the period. The Roadrunners went on an 11-0 run coming out of the intermission and owned a 33-26 edge at the 5:56 mark. A 3-pointer and two free throws by Janae Kent sparked a 12-2 Aggie spurt. Texas A&M reclaimed the lead as Jones closed out the run with seven consecutive points. Her layup at the 1:03 mark gave the Maroon & White a 38-35 edge and they took a 40-38 margin into the last break.
Freshman Taliyah Parker’s five points came at big moments for Texas A&M in the fourth quarter. Her 3-pointer at the 5:19 mark of the fourth quarter halted a 6-0 run by UTSA, pushing the Aggies ahead 45-44 and stamping out the Roadrunners’ final lead of the contest. Parker added two free throws at the 2:14 mark to extend A&M’s gap to 52-48. The Maroon & White held UTSA to one field goal in the final three minutes.
The Aggies return to the court Sunday, Nov. 10 against Western Michigan with a 2 p.m. start time.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M is now 12-4 versus the Roadrunners all-time.
Joni Taylor’s career record moves to 169-109 all-time and to 29-34 in her three seasons with the Aggies.
TEAM NOTES.
The Aggies won the program’s 899th game, inching one closer to the 900 mark.
Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Lauren Ware, Sole Williams, Janae Kent, Sahara Jones and Aicha Coulibaly (1-1).
The Aggies are now 25-1 when leading at the half during the Joni Taylor era.
There were 7,507 fans in attendance, marking the fifth largest Elementary School Day Game in program history.
The Maroon & White won a game when scoring 55-or-less for the first time since Feb. 4, 2021, when it defeated LSU, 54-41.
Texas A&M held the Roadrunners to 51 points. UTSA scored less than 51 points last season just twice and once in non-conference play.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Sahara Jones
Led the Aggies in points (16) for the seventh time in her career.
Aicha Coulibaly
Hauled in a season high of seven rebounds.
Lauren Ware
Recorded multiple blocks (3) for the second time this season.
Aicha Coulibaly
Hauled in a team best eight rebounds, leading the Aggies on the glass for the thirty-sixth time in her career.
Taliyah Parker
Logged her first career points with a 3-pointer against the UTSA Roadrunners, giving the Aggies the lead midway through the fourth quarter.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On how the team responded to difficulty…
“Before the game today we talked about how difficulty reveals who you are, and that was our challenge for the game. UTSA is really good, Karen [Aston] does a great job. They have a lot of talent on their roster, so we knew they were going to come out and make a run. When they did, we called a timeout just to serve as a reminder that these moments are where we find out who we are, and they responded well.”
Graduate Sahara Jones
On her teammates’ support…
“We knew that we had to win this game. My teammates put that confidence in me to do what I always do which is get to the basket. If I don’t have anything, I know they will be in my peripheral so I can pass it to them. Credit to my teammates for rebounding and kicking the ball back out and doing things the way we know how.”
Freshman Taliyah Parker
On her first career three-pointer to give the Aggies the lead…
“That [shot] is something I work on in practice. I was confident and trusted the work that I put in, so I just shot it with no hesitation.”