COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M’s valiant run at the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament ended with Friday’s 77-60 quarterfinal loss to the Ole Miss Rebels inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The No. 13-seed Aggies became the first 13 seed to reach the quarterfinals in SEC Tournament history. After going 2-14 in an injury-riddled SEC slate, the Maroon & White matched that win total in Greenville, marking the fourth time the Aggies posted multiple victories at the tournament.
Janiah Barker recorded her second career double-double and the second 20-point performance of her career. She logged 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Aggies in both categories.
In her last collegiate game, Aaliyah Patty logged 10 points, three rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
Sahara Jones tacked on 10 points and McKinzie Green, also playing her last game in Maroon & White, had five rebounds and two assists.
Ole Miss pounced on the Aggies early, mounting a 14-4 lead at the 2:42 mark of the first quarter. Texas A&M finished the period strong, converting 8-of-8 from the charity stripe during a 10-3 run to trim the deficit to 17-14 at the first break.
The Aggies trimmed the margin to one point twice early in the second quarter on buckets by Jada Malone, but Ole Miss responded with a 16-6 run to inflate their cushion to 11 points. After trading scores down the stretch, the Rebels led 40-29 at halftime.
Sahara Jones made back-to-back buckets early in the third quarter to cut the Ole Miss advantage to single digits, but the Rebels stretched the gap out to 18 before the final break, 60-42.
After an Ole Miss jumper 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Aggies were unable to get the deficit back under 20 points until Patty hit a jumper at the 0:47.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M ended the season with a 9-20 mark.
The Aggies moved to 10-6 all-time against Ole Miss, including 0-1 at the SEC Tournament.
Texas A&M’s SEC Tournament mark moved to 13-10.
Joni Taylor’s career record is 149-95 all-time and to 9-20 in her first season with the Aggies.
Coach Taylor’s SEC Tournament record moved to 7-8, including 2-1 at Texas A&M.
TEAM NOTES
Texas A&M owned a 28-14 edge in bench points.
The Aggies canned 89.3% (25-of-28) free throws, their best performance of the season (minimum 10 attempts).
Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Sydney Bowles, McKinzie Green, Sahara Jones, Jada Malone and Aaliyah Patty for the first time this season (0-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Janiah Barker
Tallied the second double-double of her career with 22 points and 10 assists.
Scored 20-plus points for the second time in her career, two points shy of her career high.
Recorded double digits in the scoring column for the 11th time in this season.
Recorded double-digit rebounds for the second time this season.
Led team in scoring for the eighth time this season.
Led team in rebounding for the eighth time this season.
Sydney Bowles
Logged six points, three rebounds and three assists.
Led team in assists for the third time this season.
McKinzie Green
Pulled down a career-high five rebounds.
Sahara Jones
Logged 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.
Recorded double digits in the scoring column for the 12th time this season and the 14th time in her career.
Aaliyah Patty
Registered 10 points, including 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, with two blocks, three rebounds and one assist.
Recorded double digits in the scoring column for the 12th time this season and the 51st time in her career.
Ended her collegiate career with 1,067 points (422 at A&M), 816 rebounds (421) and 156 blocks (77).
