How First Half Texas A&M Struggles Turned Into Second Half Dominance

The Aggies defeated Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC challenge.

Mississippi State guard Darrione Rogers (0) keeps the ball from Texas A & M defense Lauren Ware (32), Kay Kay Green (4) and Maliyah Johnson (14) during the first quarter of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament game three at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. Thursday, March 7, 2024. | MCKENZIE LANGE/ Staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas A&M women's basketball moves to 6-1 on the season, one of its best starts since Joni Taylor arrived in Aggieland. The Aggies hosted Georgia Tech for the ACC/SEC challenge, where the Aggies came out with a win, 72-63.

The Aggies struggled to find the basket in the first half, as the Yellowjackets were able to go into halftime up 31-30. Yet it did not phase the Aggies at all, as they played an excellent second half to surge them to victory over the Yellowjackets.

"We didn't play our best half," Ny'Ceara Pryor said postgame. "But then we came back out and we knew that the third quarter is one of our best quarters, so we knew that we had to come out and play our game and that's exactly what we did in the third quarter."

Second Half Aggies

Mar 8, 2024; Greensville, SC, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Joni Taylor during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The third quarter was lights out for the Aggies as they were able to score 24 points to open the game up, while stepping up on defense and holding the Yellowjackets to 15. One of the biggest threats that Georgia Tech used all night was Talayah Walker, who ended the night with 17 points, yet in the third quarter, she was held to just two.

"We turned it up on defense and we turned it up on offense," Pryor said. "We was being more aggressive and not settling for threes. We took a lot of threes in the first half, the third quarter fourth quarter. We really attacked them and got to the free-throw line, and it showed."

A big part of the Aggies' success came from the free-throw line. The Aggies drew fouls left and right to get to the line, and 22 points were able to come from free throws. The Aggies' leading scorer, Pryor, picked up 17 points on the evening, and seven of them were able to come from the line.

After a surging third quarter, the Aggies did not slow down in the fourth as they added 18 points to the board. Georgia Tech also came crawling back with 17 points, yet due to the intense third quarter that the Aggies posted, the Yellowjackets were just too far behind.

Speaking on the free throw game, the Aggies were able to get 11 points off of free throws alone in the fourth quarter. For Georgia Tech, Walker was able to get back on track and score 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies are off until they head back to Reed Arena to face West Virginia on Sunday, December 14.