Women’s Basketball Overpowers Kentucky, 61-44

LEXINGTON – The Texas A&M women's basketball team was overwhelming in the third quarter for the second consecutive game to grind out a road victory, 61-44, over the Kentucky Wildcats Sunday afternoon inside Rupp Arena.
 
One game after outscoring Ole Miss 21-7 in the third quarter, the Maroon & White dominated Kentucky, 23-10, in the period to turn a halftime tie into a 47-34 advantage at the final intermission.
 
Texas A&M (17-6, 5-5 SEC) shot 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the field in the decisive third quarter with Janiah Barker and Aicha Coulibaly scoring eight points apiece. The Aggies held Kentucky (9-16, 2-8 SEC) without a field goal over the final 6:20 of the period during a 17-2 surge.
 
The victory gave Texas A&M back-to-back conference road wins for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. The 44 points equaled the lowest output for an Aggie league opponent this season.
 
The Maroon & White were dominant on the glass, owning a 43-25 rebounding advantage, including 12-6 on the offensive glass. The Aggies flexed their muscles on the interior with a 42-14 edge in points in the paint. Texas A&M blocked a season-high 10 shots, including a career high five by Sahara Jones.
 
Barker and Endyia Rogers paced the A&M arsenal with 15 points apiece. Barker added a team-high nine rebounds along with two assists and a steal. Rogers connected on 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while contributing six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
Coulibaly tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
The Aggies made 7-of-8 from the field to start the game, building a 15-5 lead at 5:30 into the first quarter. The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run before Maliyah Johnson converted a fastbreak layup with 25 seconds remaining in the period, putting Texas A&M up 17-12 at the first break.
 
After a Rogers' layup early in the second quarter, Kentucky went on a 12-3 run, keyed by Ajae Petty's seven points, to give the Wildcats a 24-22 advantage at the 1:39 mark. Coulibaly knotted the game at 24-24 heading into halftime with a late jumper in the paint.
 
Kentucky cut the lead to 11 points two minutes into the fourth quarter but were unable to cut the deficit to single digits down the stretch.
 
Up Next
The Aggies will return home for an 8 p.m. matchup versus Vanderbilt on Thursday, Feb. 15.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

• The Aggies improve to 10-5 all-time versus Kentucky and 5-2 in games in Lexington. They are also 1-0 in Rupp Arena.
• A&M recorded its first back-to-back SEC road wins since the 2020-21 season.
• Joni Taylor's career record improves to 166-101 all-time and to 26-26 in her two seasons with the Aggies.

 
TEAM NOTES

• Texas A&M matched the fewest amount of points given up in an SEC game this season, the previous mark of 44 came versus Auburn.
• The Maroon & White's 42-14 points in the paint advantage was the most in league play this season for the Aggies.
• The Aggies are 13-1 in games where they outrebound a team by 10-or-more this season. The Maroon & White grabbed 43 boards to Kentucky's 25.
• Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Endyia Rogers, Aicha Coulibaly, Janiah Barker, Sahara Jones and Lauren Ware (16-3).

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Sahara Jones

• Swatted away a career-high five shots. The San Antonio, Texas, native reached the career high halfway through the second quarter.

Aicha Coulibaly

• The Aggies are now 8-3 this season when Coulibaly registers three-or-more steals in a game.
• This was the third-consecutive game for the senior to collect at least three steals.

Endyia Rogers

• Matched her career-best of two blocked shots.

Janiah Barker

• Posted a team-best +27 when on the court against the Wildcats.
• Led the team in scoring for the 10th time this season.

 
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