Aggies Dominate Bulldogs; Advance to Quarterfinals for Second-Straight Year

Thursday, March 7

Greenville, S.C.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

19-11,6-10SEC

Mississippi State

21-11,8-8SEC

Texas A&M

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Ethan Mito/Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Thomas Dick, Athletics Communications

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Texas A&M women's basketball team never trailed Mississippi State in the Aggies' 72-56 victory over the Bulldogs in Thursday's SEC Tournament second round game inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Texas A&M improved to 9-3 all-time in their SEC Tournament debuts, including 3-0 when opening the event in the second round.

It marked the second consecutive year the Aggies (19-11) dumped Mississippi State (21-11) in the second round of the tournament. Last year, Ol' Sarge's charges prevailed 79-72.

Playing in her first game since February 11, Endyia Rogers scored 12 points in 16 minutes. She hit 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. The Aggies were 1-5 in Rogers' absence.

Janiah Barker logged 15 points and clogged up the inside on defense with three blocks and nine rebounds.

Aicha Coulibaly led all scorers with 17 points, sinking 7-of-11 field goals. She also contributed four rebounds and three assists.

Kay Kay Green and Lauren Ware each logged five assists. Ware shared the top rebounder honors with Barker.

The Aggies opened the game with three layups before Mississippi State answered with two 3-point field goals to knot the contest, 6-6, at the 6:03 mark. Four different Texas A&M players scored buckets in an 8-0 surge as the Maroon & White staked claim to a 14-6 edge with 1:20 left in the period and nursed a 14-9 lead into the intermission.

Texas A&M opened up a seven-point advantage on two separate occasions in the second quarter, but neither team was able to string together more than two baskets in the period. Sydney Bowles scored the last five points for the Aggies in the half with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws as they were up 25-21 going into locker room.

Keyed by old-fashioned 3-point plays by Green and Coulibaly, the Maroon & White went on a 12-0 run, inflating their cushion to 41-24 at the 6:03 mark of the third quarter. The Aggies continued the offensive assaulted deep into period with Barker converting a layup with 1:04, stretching the gap to 51-30 and they led 51-35 at the last break.

Barker hit a dagger 3-point from the top of the arc on the front end of the fourth quarter media timeout and Tineya Hylton converted a post route fast break layup on the other side as Texas A&M took its largest lead of the game, 67-45 with 4:18 remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs would draw no closer than 16 points down the stretch.

Up Next
The Aggies will take on No. 1 South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday, March 8 at 11 a.m.

POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M 7-12 versus Mississippi State all-time and have won the past two meetings in the SEC Tournament between the two programs.
Joni Taylor's career record improves to 168-106 all-time and to 3-1 in the SEC Tournament at Texas A&M.

TEAM NOTES

The victory marked the fifth win over a top-50 NET team this season for the Aggies.
The Maroon & White are 14-10 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
Texas A&M was one of the "Last Four In", according to ESPN's latest Bracketology, with Mississippi State also sharing that distinction. The Bulldogs are 1-6 in their last seven games.
The Aggies registered a 22-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, the largest since the Ole Miss game (Feb. 8) when they built a lead of 29.
The Maroon & White won the rebounding battle for the first time in three games, outrebounding the Bulldogs 40-32 on the glass. Texas A&M is now 18-4 when beating its opponent on the glass.
The Aggie bench scored over 25 points for the third-straight game. A&M is 14-2 when its bench outscores it opposition's.
Texas A&M scored the most points in a game since Endyia Rogers went down with injury, scoring 72 points for the first time since Ole Miss.
This was the first wire-to-wire victory for the Aggies in SEC play this year.
Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Kay Kay Green, Janiah Barker, Aicha Coulibaly, Sahara Jones and Lauren Ware for the sixth time this season (2-4).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Aicha Coulibaly

Led the team in scoring for the ninth time this year.
Recorded three-or-more steals for the 15th time this season.

Janiah Barker

Matched a career-high three blocks.

Lauren Ware

Dished out a career-best five assists.

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