The Places We Haven't Been

There's the old saying in sports that goes "Act like you have been here before." But sometimes, it's okay to enjoy the little things and celebrate them as if they are the big things.

There’s the old saying in sports that goes “Act like you have been here before.”

It’s a lesson in humility and sportsmanship that is taught on little league fields, to the professional ranks and everywhere in between.

As the clock was winding down in Haas Pavilion over the Thanksgiving break and the Aggie women’s basketball team’s first road win of the Joni Taylor era was nearing, that lesson was about to be taught once again.

The final buzzer sounded and the celebration from the 15 players on the roster began as they had just defeated the Cal Golden Bears, 65-51, on their home court to capture the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Championship.

It was a celebration that is usually reserved for conference titles, major upsets or national championship victories and NOT for a win in late November less than 10 games into the season.

The ever-stoic Taylor, being the consummate professional she is, noticed this just like everyone in attendance that day. She turned into the celebration amid the jumping, yelling and embracing and said what many coaches before her have said: “Act like you have been here before.”

Now, the typical response is a moment of reflection by the coach’s players as they realize that they should scale back the hullabaloo. However, this wasn’t one of those typical responses.

Janiah Barker and Kay Kay Green looked at her and yelled exuberantly “We haven’t been here before!”

“They’re right,” Taylor recalled. “I had to remind myself that they haven’t done this. I said ‘Calm down Joni. Let them enjoy this moment.’”

Sometimes it’s okay to enjoy the little things and celebrate them as if they are the big things.

“I am really glad they said that to me because I needed to let them enjoy that moment,” Taylor said. “They worked so hard to get to that place. Can you imagine not winning a road game at all last year? We had a hard time. We grew and learned a lot, but at the end of the day we are all competitors. So, for them to string together back-to-back wins out there in California was huge. They gave me some truth serum that I needed to enjoy the moment with them.”

After the on-the-court celebration, the team took the party back to the locker room.

Secretively…as the team plotted dousing their head coach as soon as she made her way back to them. A couple of scouts kept eyes on Taylor as she made her way to the locker room, giving the team a heads up as she approached.

Once she finally arrived, she was met with a shower of water from her team, washing away last season’s struggles and completing an important chapter in the Taylor era.

Since Then

After that win at Cal, the Aggies have gone on to win seven more games, extending their win streak to 10. They have asserted themselves as one of the best defensive programs in the country, ranking in the top three in scoring defense (No. 2 – 48.8 points allowed/game), field goal percentage defense (No. 2 – 31.1%) and rebounds per game (No. 3 – 49.6).

They are the only team in the country to be ranked top three in those categories. They also capped off the non-conference schedule at 12-1 when they defeated A&M-Commerce, 87-63, and grabbed the second-most rebounds in a game in school history with 71.

If you follow Taylor, you know this is no surprise. Her teams will play defense and they will play it well. Even last season when the Aggies went 9-20 in the first year under Taylor, the team held all but three teams below their season scoring average.

With the emergence of transfers such as Lauren Ware, Aicha Coulibaly and Endyia Rogers, the team is now poised to defend and play at an elite level alongside those from the 2022-23 squad.

The Aggies open league play at Georgia Thursday night (6 p.m., SECN+). As they continue the journey of learning to win, they surely will enjoy all the small moments with great enthusiasm.

They will experience the places they haven’t been like they haven’t been there before.

Because they haven’t.