SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 5, 2025

Joni Taylor

Lauren Ware

Sahara Jones

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Texas A&M Aggies

Postgame Press Conference

Tennessee 77, Texas A&M 37

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Texas A&M.

Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Could you just speak on what you will take away from an admittedly challenging season?

SAHARA JONES: From this season, I just take away my own personal growth just on and off the floor. My leadership has gotten better being under Joni and the coaching staff, being around Lauren, my teammate. I think she's a great leader. She continues to show us that every day. It goes onto the team, especially through me being a senior this year. I feel like I've had a lot of growth in that area. As a basketball player, Joni just pushed me to do more every day, not to give up, have confidence in myself. I feel like I've gotten better at that the couple of years I've been here.

LAUREN WARE: I think obviously this season didn't go the way that we wanted it to. In a way, I think it gave us, like, an opportunity to look up really what it takes to be successful in this league, like day in, day out, being consistent. That's something that Joni harped on us all year. I think that's just really what it takes to be successful, just to be consistent day in, day out. That's something that I'm going to continue to work on going forward, being consistent. Like Sahara said, stepping back from being a leader, and just taking the personal growth that I've gained from this year just as a player and a person, and taking that into next year.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, you can be dismissed. We'll continue with questions for Coach Taylor.

Q. Talaysia for Tennessee, how much of an impact does she make on both sides of the floor?

JONI TAYLOR: She's someone who's a great two-way player. She leads our league in steals. She is great at getting downhill. She is a three-level scorer. She has length, she has size. She's an excellent passer.

When you have someone who is just wreaking havoc on both ends of the floor, they go not as she goes. They've got tons of great players. She sets the tone for some of the things they do because of her mentality and the confidence she gives them.

Q. It's obviously always a tough league to play in. There's so much more depth in the SEC this year. Where have you seen the conference level up?

JONI TAYLOR: Well, I think number one, this conference is the best conference in the country. I think you look at just night in, night out some of the teams that win, anybody's capable of beating anyone on the right night.

There's times where this league is consistently, like, top to bottom really good and there's times where even when you say it's top-heavy, the bottom half of our league is excellent.

I think this year's probably a year in which you go one through 16 and you're like that team can beat you, that team can beat you, that team can beat you. That's what's so special about this conference.

You come to this conference because you want to play with and against the best every night. You want to be challenged, you want to find out how good you are, compete.

I think that's where we are different in where we separate ourselves.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach.

JONI TAYLOR: Thank you.