Janiah Barker & Aicha Coulibaly speak to media before Texas A&M plays Nebraska in March Madness

“I think we’re all really excited to be here. Honestly, all respect to Nebraska but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

Prior to the Texas A&M women’s basketball team playing Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, senior guard Aicha Coulibaly and sophomore forward Janiah Barker spoke to the media on Thursday.

“I was super excited because this is the first time that I’ve made it to the NCAA Tournament. I’m a senior and it was just a lot of excitement, I didn’t know what to say and it feels great,” Coulibaly explained. “They called our name really fast and I was just sitting in my chair, screaming and jumping all over the place and full of emotions. It’s exciting to see how far we came this season. We had some lows, ups and downs, but we kept fighting and this is where we’re at now, it feels great.”

Barker is grateful to be competing in March Madness as an underclassman.

“First, it’s a blessing to be here,” Barker said. “It was really cool and fun to be apart of the (selection process). It was all very genuine, we had an off day and then we came in ready to work. After the selection show, we saw the coaches and they left to go scout. They came to us and told us that we have a really good chance to do this and they believe in us. I think we’re all really excited to be here.

“Honestly, all respect to Nebraska and everyone here but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.