Texas A&M redshirt junior guard Kyndall Hunter did all she could in the fourth quarter.

In the opening game of their trip to Paradise Island, Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, A&M women’s basketball fell to Villanova, 65-57, in a game marred by a scoring drought for the Aggies.

With 4:17 left in the game, Villanova was in the middle of a 12-2 run, putting it in a position of power that it would not relinquish. At the same time, A&M remained scoreless for more than two minutes. The Wildcats shot 57.1% from the floor in the final quarter, noticeably higher than their game-long 39% and the Aggies’ fourth-quarter total of 33.3%.

Hunter tried to put the team on her shoulders in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 13 points in the final period. With the score within reach of 45-44, Houston product Villanova hit a circus shot while drawing a foul to bring her team within six points with 3:42 left, but A&M would score just four more points. erasing any chance of a comeback.

The Wildcats had four players score double-digit points, including freshman G Jasmine Bascoe’s game-high 15. Graduate G Sahara Jones led the Aggies with 14 points.

Despite the late-game struggles, the Aggies had the Wildcats reeling in the first quarter. With 3:37 left in the first period, A&M Villanova led 13-2, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor, compared to the Wildcats’ 1-of-10. Redshirt senior forward Lauren Ware’s play was emblematic of the Aggies’ play early on, as she pulled down a rebound, got two early blocks and won with her physicality.

The Maroon and White dominated the glass early in the first quarter with a 10-to-1 advantage over their counterparts. A&M coach Joni Taylor said in her pregame interview that Villanova struggled with rebounding, which she believed gave A&M an advantage in that area.

After the first quarter clock expired, the Aggies led 14-4. It was the first quarter they held their opponent to five points or less since January 4, 2024. The Wildcats remained lifeless offensively, but A&M’s shooting slowed and missed its final five field goal attempts of the quarter. Villanova sophomore guard Maddie Webber relentlessly tried to assert her will in the game, but the shot wasn’t falling for the Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, product, going 1-of-6.

The Aggies’ offense began to sputter in the second quarter as they made just five of 15 field goals. The perimeter for A&M struggled to get anything going as sophomore LSU transfer G Janae Kent and redshirt senior G Aicha Coulibaly combined for 2-of-8 shooting in the second period.

A&M’s inability to buy a bucket came at the same time that Villanova caught fire, closing the gap to enter halftime at 27-26. The Wildcats’ 8-of-14 shooting to end the half included 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Bascoe found her footing, scoring nine points in the quarter and getting two assists on backdoor cuts from the Wildcats.

Villanova battled a one-point deficit in the third period and briefly took its first lead of the game in the back-and-forth quarter. The Aggies’ perimeter defense struggled to keep up with Webber as they repeatedly pushed their way into the paint for a six-point quarter.

A&M will take on Ball State in the Battle 4 Atlantis Loser’s Bracket on Sunday at 8 p.m.