News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Texas A&M women’s basketball team plays its third-straight ranked conference foe in No. 2 South Carolina Thursday at 4 p.m. inside Colonial Life Arena.
The Aggies (8-6, 1-1 SEC) are hot off winning their first ranked game since 2021 after beating then-No. 25 Ole Miss, 60-58. The Maroon & White overcame a 16-point deficit and didn’t allow a single made field goal in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.
The road test at South Carolina (14-1, 2-0 SEC) will be the first true road game for Texas A&M since Nov. 10 at West Virginia. The Maroon & White is 1-6 all-time in Columbia with its lone triumph coming during the 2012-13 season.
The Aggies are led by Aicha Coulibaly who is averaging 12.4 points per game. The fifth-year senior is scoring 64.2% of her points in the second half this year and shooting 57.5% from the field in the final two frames of games.
Jada Malone has been a force off the bench, pouring in 10.5 points per game and shooting a staggering 69.0%. Her field goal percentage is No. 6 in the country among players who are making at least 4.0 shots a game.
The defense has relied on its ability to protect the rim, coming in at No. 23 in the nation in blocks per game (5.6). That effort is led by Lauren Ware who is swatting 2.15 shots per contest, which is No. 14 in the country in the category.