BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Despite only seven available players, the Texas A&M women’s basketball team battled to a 57-49 victory over the SMU Mustangs Sunday afternoon inside Reed Arena.
Texas A&M’s (5-4) only two available bench players recorded career highs in the points column as the Aggies’ balanced attack had five players in double figures. Jada Malone paced the team with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Mya Petticord scored 10 points, all in the first half, and added career bests for rebounds (5), assists (3), steals (1) and minutes (32).
Kay Kay Green registered career highs across the stat sheet, including points (10), rebounds (4) and assists (4). Sydney Bowles and Aaliyah Patty both added 10 points. Bowles pulled down a career-high eight rebounds. Patty grabbed nine boards, equaled a career best with five blocked shots and chipped in with three assists.
Texas A&M played solid defense, holding SMU to 29.7% (19-of-64) shooting from the field, including 18.2% (4-of-22) from 3-point range. The Aggies held an opponent under 50 points for the fifth time on the season and fourth time at Reed Arena this year.
Trailing at the intermission, SMU (8-3) scored the first eight points of the third quarter to tie the game at the 6:29 mark. The Aggies responded with a 10-2 run keyed by three Malone layups, stretching the gap back to 42-34 at the 3:01 mark. The Mustangs scored the last four points of the quarter and the Maroon & White led 42-38 going to the final act.
The squads traded scores for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter with Patty’s 3-pointer pushing Texas A&M to a 51-47 advantage at the 5:10 mark. Down the homestretch, the Aggies’ defense held SMU to 1-of-8 shooting from the field and forced four turnovers as the Mustangs were unable to get back in the fray.
Green banked in a 3-point field goal with :44 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give A&M a 10-9 lead at the break. It marked the fourth time the Aggies held an opponent to single digits in the scoring column in the opening act.
Green’s trifecta was part of a 14-0 run for Texas A&M that turned a 9-5 deficit into a 19-9 lead with 6:39 remaining in the second quarter. Petticord registered five points in the spurt which spanned 7:52.
The Aggies claimed their largest margin of the game at the 2:52 mark of the second quarter when Malone hit a jumper in the paint to inflate the cushion to 28-17. SMU’s Jasmine Smith scored five points in the final two minutes and the Maroon & White carried a 32-24 edge into the intermission.
Up Next
Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena to take on Purdue on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Admission is free to the public.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M moves to 5-4 in the 2022-23 regular season.
The Aggies’ record against the Mustangs betters to 29-18 all-time.
Joni Taylor’s career record advances to 145-79 all-time and to 5-4 in her first season with the Aggies.
TEAM NOTES
Five Aggies scored in double-digits for the first time since Feb. 20, 2022, including Sydney Bowles (10), Maya Petticord (10), Kay Kay Green (10), Aaliyah Patty (10) and Jada Malone (12).
The Aggie defense held its opponent to under 50 points for the fifth time this season and fourth time at Reed Arena.
The Aggies held their opponent to single-digit points in the first quarter for the third time this season.
The Maroon & White defense held the Mustangs to 18% behind the arch and 30% from the field, the second lowest field-goal percentage from an opponent this season with the lowest being Texas State (28.6%) on Nov. 23, 2022.
The Aggies outscored the Mustangs 22-15 in the second frame.
The Maroon & White improved to 5-1 while playing inside Reed Arena.
The Aggies are now 5-0 when leading after the first quarter.
Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Sydney Bowles, Kay Kay Green, Eriny Kindred, Sahara Jones and Aaliyah Patty for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Maya Petticord
Hit a career-high 10 points with her previous best being two points on Nov. 30, 2022, at Kansas.
Led the Maroon & White off the bench, playing a career-high 32 minutes.
Drained a career-high two 3-pointers.
Brought down a career-high five rebounds, her previous high being two at Little Rock on Dec. 6, 2022.
Dished out a career-high three assists and one steal.
Jada Malone
Led the Aggies in points as she put up a career-high 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field with her previous best being 10 against Rice on Nov. 27, 2022.
Sydney Bowles
Scored 10-or-more points for the fifth time this season.
Brought down a career-high eight rebounds, her previous high being seven against Texas State on Nov. 23, 2022.
Kay Kay Green
Hit a career-high 11 points to better her previous best of nine recorded on Dec. 6, 2022, against Little Rock.
Brought down a career-high four rebounds with her previous high being two against Georgia on Feb. 27, 2022.
Recorded a career-best four assists and matcher her career-high two steals.
Aaliyah Patty
Tallied 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Matched her career-high five blocks.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On the plan going into the game…
“SMU is really good. They’re coming off a seven-game winning streak coming in here. It’s going to be a very fun team to watch. I’m just really proud of the grit and toughness that we had today. Chasing down 50/50 balls was another area where we either got a tie up or got the ball. We made it a point of how many extra possessions we can get by going to get a rebound or going to get a loose ball. So, between that and executing the game plan, I was really proud of what we did.”
On only having seven players…
“The good thing is that everyone got a ton of reps in practice and was more efficient on what it is we’re doing. I thought it was really good for Maya Petticord. She has been out; she’s been hurt, and she was behind and so she was one of the healthy ones this week and for her to take every rep multiple times showed up today for her. The adjustment is we’re not running the way we would like to run, playing a lot of zone and so you just try to figure out how to save and protect them on both ends of the floor. Get them in, get them out. And to help mentally: feed them with confidence through film and preparation.”
Sophomore Forward Jada Malone
On digging in past tiredness…
“We had to suck it up. We knew it was going to be hard going in, but we communicated and played hard to push through that wall. I think we all hit a wall in the third quarter, but it’s a wall that you have to push through because there is nobody else to come get you. Pushing through it is going to be hard, but Coach Taylor always reminds us that we can do hard things. Today we showed that we are better together.”
Freshman Guard Mya Petticord
On team working together short-handedly…
“We knew we were limited coming into the game, so we knew we had to make the right decisions and listen to coach to fall into rhythm and carry out the gameplan. Coach prepared us well for the game, so by sharing the ball in rotation and being where we needed to be, we were able to be successful.”