Arkansas
Aggies use huge second half versus Arkansas to snap two game losing streak
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Aggie bench propelled the Texas A&M women’s basketball team to Thursday evening’s 73-67 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks inside Reed Arena.
Paced by Solè Williams’ 11 points, the Maroon & White bench outscored the Razorbacks’ reserves 26-2. Williams was 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Sydney Bowles added nine points, including a free throw to ice the game with 12.7 seconds remaining. The bench played a key role in erasing a 14-point deficit early in the second half.
The Aggies needed a strong fourth quarter, nursing a one-point lead heading into the last stanza. Texas A&M (18-8, 6-7 SEC) outscored Arkansas (18-10, 6-7 SEC) out of the break, 10-4, to claim its largest margin of the game, 61-52, with 5:51 remaining.
The Razorbacks were relentless over the next three minutes, using a 13-3 surge to briefly nose ahead, 65-64, with 2:44 left. Sahara Jones hit a 10-footer to give Texas A&M the advantage, 66-65, at the 2:21 mark and the Maroon & White would not trail the rest of the game. Janiah Barker and Kay Kay Green layups stretched the gap to five points and Ol’ Sarge’s charges sank three free throws down the stretch.
Barker registered a career-high 15 rebounds in her eighth double-double of the season. She added 11 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Sahara Jones logged 11 points and seven rebounds, while Aicha Coulibaly stuffed the stats sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Kay Kay Green added seven points, three rebounds and a season-high five assists.
The Aggies matched a season-high with eight 3-point field goals and their 50.0% (8-of-16) from long range was a best for the campaign. Maroon & White dominated on the boards with a 45-32 rebounding margin.
Texas A&M was up 15-13 after a first quarter in which buckets were hard to come by. The Aggies hit 5-of-20 (25.0%) while Arkansas made 5-of-17 (29.4%). The Maroon & White’s biggest lead was 10-6 following an old-fashioned 3-point play by Aicha Coulibaly at the 3:27 mark. Arkansas responded with a 7-1 surge, staking claim to a 13-11 edge with 77 ticks left in the period. The Aggies closed out the quarter with a layup by Coulibaly and two free throws by Maliyah Johnson.
Texas A&M was outscored 17-5 in the second quarter, going without a field goal the 7:39 of the period. The Razorbacks carried a 30-20 lead into halftime.
Arkansas hit a couple 3-pointers early in the third quarter to inflate it cushion to 36-22. The Aggies responded with a 10-0 burst keyed by an old-fashioned 3-point play and a new wave trifecta by Barker, shaving the deficit to 36-34 at the 6:51 mark. The Maroon & White took the lead, 43-41, five minutes later when Williams nailed a jumper in the lane. The game see-sawed in the waning moments of the quarter before Williams beat the buzzer with a shot beyond the arc to put Texas A&M up 49-48 at the last intermission.
Up Next
The Aggies will return to the hardwood on Sunday, Feb. 25 as they travel to Auburn for a 2 p.m. matchup.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M is now 16-24 against Arkansas all-time.
- Joni Taylor’s career record advances to 167-104 all-time and to 27-28 in her two seasons with the Aggies.
TEAM NOTES
- Four Aggies scored in double-digits for the 11th time this season (Barker – 16, Coulibaly – 11, Jones – 11, Williams – 10).
- Texas A&M out-rebounded Arkansas 45-32. The Maroon & White are now 14-1 when winning the rebounding battle by 10-or-more.
- The Aggies hit eight 3-pointers, tying for their most the season, on a season-best 50.0% shooting from behind the arc.
- Scored 29 points in the third quarter, the most the Aggies have scored in a quarter in SEC play and matched their largest scoring quarter of the season against North Texas on Nov. 12, 2023.
- Dominated the Razorbacks in scoring off the bench, putting up 26 points compared to only two from Arkansas. The 24-point margin is the Aggies largest this season.
- The Maroon & White overcame a 10-point deficit for the first time since a win versus Mississippi State on March 3, 2023.
- Held Arkansas to zero fast-break points. The Aggies are 2-0 this season when holding teams to no fast-break points.
- The Aggies are now 16-1 this season when leading after the first quarter.
- Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Kay Kay Green, Aicha Coulibaly, Sahara Jones, Janiah Barker and Lauren Ware (1-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Janiah Barker
- Posted a team-high 16 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
- Recorded her eighth double-double of the season.
Kay Kay Green
- Paced the team in assists in with five, tying her season high.
Solè Williams
- Led the team in scoring off the bench with 11 points and hit three three-pointers.
Sydney Bowles
- Matched her season-high in scoring with nine points off the bench.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On the 3-point shooting tonight …
“It’s a possibility every night and sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not. I think what really helped us is when we came out in the third quarter and pushed the ball. You know, Janiah got it, pushed it, and made good decisions. She comes down in transition and makes the three. It just opens things up and it takes some pressure off us to have to manufacture points in the half court because of how everybody’s packed the paint. And when we’re knocking threes down, it opens things up.”
On her synopsis of the first half …
“We were taking a lot of jumpers and we only had 10 paint points. That’s not typical of us. And so, that’s our bread and butter when there’s penetration and kick or a high-low, or whatever it is. We weren’t doing the things that we needed to do to have success offensively. Now with that being said, we had 11 offensive rebounds, but we weren’t converting them. We only had six second chance points off of those 11 rebounds. So, I think we just had better shots in the third and fourth quarters, but our pace had a lot to do with that.”
Senior Guard Aicha Coulibaly
On what changed in the first and second halves …
“We were just trying to figure it out and talk to each other. We’re still working on the first and second quarters because they are not our best. But we just came out in the third quarter and punched them in the face. Like I said before, we have to start the game that way and punch other teams first. We have to build that momentum from our third and fourth quarters and take that to Auburn.”
Sophomore Guard Sydney Bowles
On the trust that the team and coaching staff has …
“First of all, I just wanna start off by thanking God. I mean, it’s been tough since we lost a couple of players. But the trust our coaches have in us and that my teammates have has stayed consistent through the ups and downs. We’ve been kind of inconsistent on the court, but the one thing that has stayed is the trust between the staff and players.”
Follow the Aggies
Visit for more information on Texas A&M women’s basketball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women’s basketball team on Facebook, Instagram/Threads and X by following @AggieWBB.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ four Republican U.S. House members face challenges in this year’s election from Democratic rivals who are mounting uphill battles to break the GOP’s hold on the state’s federal delegation.
Republican U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman are seeking reelection in the heavily GOP state. Republicans have held all of the state’s U.S. House and Senate seats since 2013.
Crawford, who has represented the 1st Congressional District since 2011, faces a challenge from Democratic nominee Rodney Govens. The 1st District covers eastern Arkansas and includes the cities of Jonesboro, West Memphis and Helena-West Helena. Libertarian Steve Parsons is also running for the seat.
Crawford is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and has said he will seek the top Republican spot on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the next Congress.
Govens, a Cabot resident who has worked in the telecommunications industry, has called for improving the Veterans Administration system and foster care across the country. Crawford has said he wants to address the nation’s debt by enacting permanent spending controls.
Hill, who was first elected to the 2nd District in 2014 and is vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is running against Democratic nominee Marcus Jones. The 2nd District seat covers central Arkansas, and it includes Little Rock.
Democrats have tried unsuccessfully in recent years to try to reclaim the district, hoping to rely heavily on turnout in Little Rock despite the state’s further lurch to the right. The majority-GOP Legislature in 2021 redrew the redistrict lines, moving thousands of predominantly Black voters out of the 2nd District.
Hill has focused heavily on immigration in his reelection, calling for more border security, and on measures he says will help tackle inflation. Jones is a retired Army colonel who served as senior Army adviser to the Arkansas Army National Guard at Camp Robinson. Jones has called for expanding the child tax credit and legislation to increase rural health care access.
Womack, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, was first elected to the 3rd District in 2010 and is running against Democrat Caitlin Draper, a clinical social worker from Fayetteville.
The 3rd District covers northwest Arkansas and includes the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale and Fort Smith.
Womack, the former chairman of the House Budget Committee, was the only one of the state’s House members to face a primary challenge in March, defeating state Sen. Clint Penzo. Womack had the backing of the state’s top Republicans in that contest, including GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Womack has cited border security as a priority and has said he believes he has the experience to find bipartisan solutions in a closely divided Congress.
Draper, like other Democrats running for House seats in Arkansas, has said she supports legislation at the federal level protecting access to abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down Roe v. Wade. She has also said cited climate change and health care as top issues.
Libertarian Bobby Wilson is also running for the seat.
Westerman, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, was first elected to the 4th District in 2014. He is running against Risie Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff.
The 4th district covers southern Arkansas and includes Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Texarkana.
Westerman, a former state legislator and the only forester in the House, has touted his work on forestry legislation and said his priorities in the next Congress also include energy and mining issues. Howard has said she wants to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and protect Social Security.
Today’s Locked On Ole Miss Podcast discusses why Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels will beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in Saturday’s matchup. This will be the next opportunity to play clean football, and I think they will put it together against the Hogs and Sam Pittman and cut down on the penalties that have been allowing teams to stay in the game.
This matchup is absolutely massive for the Rebels because of what it means in the season as a whole, and Taylen Green against the Ole Miss defense will draw everyone’s eye. People look at the Arkansas stats and assume this is a typical Bobby Petrino team, and that isn’t quite right. John Nabors of Locked On Razorbacks said that if Ole Miss goes up by 14, it is over because this team is not a play-from-behind team.
In our final segment of the day, we give our final thoughts on Ole Miss vs. Arkansas and talk about expectations for Saturday and why everything points to an Ole Miss win, but Ole Miss fans before a trip to Fayetteville have seen this movie before.
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