NO. 12 TEXAS A&M 76,
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 71, OT
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Trailing by 11 points with three minutes left, all hope of a comeback for Texas A&M seemed utterly lost. Then in the sudden blink of an eye, everything took a 180 degree turn.
Courtney Walker scored 29 points, including 10 in overtime, and No. 12 Texas A&M bounced back from two consecutive losses to beat No. 23 Tennessee 76-71 on Sunday.
"Role playing in this game goes unnoticed," A&M Coach Gary Blair said. "The key times when [Danni Wiliams] went in the first half because [Walker] could not hit a thing, that gave [Walker] a chance to reflect on how they were guarding her. Sometimes those things go unnoticed."
Khaalia Hillsman added 14 points for the Aggies (16-7, 6-3 SEC).
After a sloppy first half, which ended with the Aggies on top 30-29, the third quarter was owned by Tennessee, which shot 60 percent to open a 51-40 lead. A&M made just 2 of 17 shots.
A scary moment occurred in the fourth quarter in a hard collision that sent A&M's Jordan Jones to the floor, where she hit her head forcefully on the hardwood. She laid on the court motionless for several minutes, eventually being carried off by way of stretcher to the applause of the crowd.
She was transported to the hospital where she will undergo testing Sunday night. Her exit, however, was a turning point in the ballgame for A&M.
"[Jones] was the one that helped us get our energy going . we felt like we could not tell her later tonight that we lost," Walker said. "We had to tell her that we won."
That is when Walker and the Aggies roared back, outscoring Tennessee 21 to 10 in the final quarter, which was capped by a game-tying field goal from Howard with five seconds remaining.
"Just turned around and shot it. I thought about [Jordan Jones] and said 'I have to make it'," Howard said.
Tennessee opened overtime with a free throw before Walker scored four points and Chelsea Jennings made two free throws for a 67-62 lead with 2:57 left.
Twice the Lady Vols closed within on and each time Walker answered and the Aggies went 7 of 8 from the line in the last 1:34.
"It was a great game. A&M finished it out. We could not hold on," Tennessee Coach Holly Warlick said. "They did some great things down the stretch there and we did not."
Jordan Reynolds led the Lady Vols (14-9, 5-5) with 16 points.
The Lady Vols have now lost their last three road games, all ranked opponents, by a combined eight points and are now in danger of finding themselves out of the top 25 for the first time since February of 1985.
No. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE 52, No. 21 MISSOURI 42
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Morgan William scored 17 points and Victoria Vivians 13, and the two guards made big plays late in Mississippi State's victory over Missouri.
Mississippi State (21-4, 8-3 SEC) led 45-42 when William scored and Vivians followed with a steal and three-point play for an eight-point lead with a minute left. William added two free throws with the duo combining for the Bulldogs' final 11 points.
Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points and Jordan Frericks had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (18-6, 5-6).
Both teams shot under 33 percent, combining to make only 3 of 22 three-pointers. The Bulldogs made eight steals and turned 27 Missouri turnovers into 29 points in picking up their fourth consecutive victory and splitting the season series.
Mississippi State led from midway through the first quarter but Missouri stayed within single digits most of the way.
No. 18 KENTUCKY 70, LSU 58
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Janee Thompson had 16 points and 10 assists and Kentucky used a strong first quarter to defeat LSU.
Maci Morris added 14 points and Alexis Jennings 11 for the Wildcats (16-6, 5-6 SEC), who shot 54 percent (27 of 50) for the game.
Rina Hill scored 17 points and Alexis Hyder had 16 and matched her career-high with 15 rebounds for the Tigers (8-16, 2-9), who have lost four consecutive.
Sports on 02/08/2016