Sluggish third quarter sinks A&M against Mizzou as slide reaches five
Texas A&M's skid is now five.
On Sunday afternoon, Texas A&M women's basketball dropped to 10-12 and 3-7 in league play with a 69-59 loss to Missouri (13-13, 2-9) at Reed Arena.
In the Tigers' second conference win of the year, Grace Slaughter shot a lethal 52 percent from the field and went 3-for-6 from deep to power the Tigers' efforts with 29 points.
"She is very good," A&M head coach Joni Taylor said. 'We put a guard on her, and she took us to the block and posted us up. When we put a forward on her, she drove us. We let her get to her left hand way too much.
"She had her way with us, to be honest."
A promising first half was spoiled as Slaughter began to heat up.
At first, offensive efficiency carried the Aggies through. Firing at a 47.8 clip in the first two frames, A&M appeared much more comfortable back on their home floor.
Coming off a career-high night with 21 points at Auburn, Solè Williams initially picked up right where she left off, sinking two early 3-pointers to keep the contest competitive in the first.
Growing in her role as the Aggies' point guard, Williams' range can be a weapon. It was used as such in the first half.
Yet, the sophomore's five turnovers proved there is still room to grow as a ballhandler as Missouri swiped 19 takeaways, leading to 22 points.
After A&M built a nine-point lead in the second quarter, a scoring drought followed, allowing the Tigers to creep back in. Knotted at 31 at the half, A&M needed a threat to step in.
Instead, a breakout half from Slaughter led to the Aggies' downfall.
Missouri's offense operated through the sophomore, thriving in the paint and beyond. Standing at 6-foot-2, Slaughter was able to overpower A&M's guards and forwards at any place on the floor, and A&M lacked an answer.
The third quarter heavily favored the visitors as A&M's 12-point outing allowed the Tigers' lead to swell.
As an effort to make up for lost ground, A&M shot a season-high 27 3-pointers, only knocking down eight. Kyndall Hunter offered an encouraging outing, sinking a pair of triples late. However, the advantage was too steep.
"That will never be a part of the game plan," Taylor said. "We were 4-for-13 in the first half. We came out and kept settling. Some of those, at the end, we were behind and shooting 3s to catch up, so I will take a few of those, but we have to be more deliberate about trying to move the basketball around."
After securing two top-25 wins early in SEC play, A&M's losing slide has blemished Taylor's third season in Aggieland. The Maroon & White's fourth straight game with just eight players available, the Aggies must find a way to end the slide.
Taylor expressed her concern herself, telling her players: "There's only one option."
"In a time like this, you've got to be even more locked into thinking the right thing, telling yourself the right things, getting in the gym and coming to film. They do all those things, so it's hard. No one likes losing.
"There's only one option. That is to continue to stay at it and chip away at it."
Lauren Ware said the message was received in the locker room.
"There's only one way we can go about this," Ware said. "There is only one response to how this run has been going. We need to respond the right way."
A&M's next test will come after a bye week, heading on the road at Alabama (20-5, 7-4), searching for their first true road win this season on Monday, Feb. 17.