A&M post-game
UT post-game
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
A&M storms into SEC title game with 66-62 win vs. UT
Duluth, Ga. — From the players he puts on the court to the teams he schedules, everything Texas A&M women’s basketball head coach Gary Blair does has a reason.
His latest decision?
Dropping four of the last five games of the regular season in order for the Aggies to take the fourth seed into the SEC Tournament.
Well, maybe that wasn't intentional, but history proves that A&M performs well when slotted fourth in the conference tournament.
In the past five seasons, A&M has won two conference championships, and both times the Aggies did it as the fourth best team in the regular season.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Junior center Kelsey Bone finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds.
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After Saturday’s thrilling, 66-62 victory over top-seeded Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals, the No. 19 Aggies will get another shot at a conference crown as the four-seed.
“How about those young Aggies? We keep finding a way [to win],” Blair exclaimed after the game. “We might not have had Johnny Manziel, but we had some freshman step up. I had leadership out of (Adrienne) Pratcher in the first half, and Bone’s second half was just very, very good.”
Courtney Walker scored 18 points, Kelsey Bone poured in 15 more and Kristi Bellock had 12 and 12 rebounds to lead A&M (23-9).
“Bellock sometimes gets the quietest double-doubles you have ever seen,” said Blair. “She’s a kid that has waited her time. Good things are happening to her.”
Tennessee (24-7) was led by senior Taber Spani who went 11-13 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line for 33 points in a losing effort.
After back-and-forth play for much of the first half, the Aggies and Volunteers were knotted at 22 with 6:22 remaining before the break. Over the next 1:23, A&M would go on a 7-0 run to take a 29-22 lead with 4:59 left in the half. But Tennessee would whittle the A&M advantage to just two going into the locker room on a pair of three-pointers by Spani, the second coming at the halftime buzzer.
Out of the break, the Aggies would miss their first nine shots and allowed Tennessee to build a 10-point, 50-40 lead with 12:48 remaining in the game. Over that time, Spani would connect on two threes and also convert an and-one opportunity for the Volunteers.
That’s when Blair made the decision to go to his bench and sub-in sophomore Tori Scott for freshman Courtney Williams who had been guarding Spani during most of the game.
From that point on, Spani scored just four points.
“Tori is the quickest kid on the team,” stated Blair. “We said, ‘Don’t leave her, don’t let her breathe.’ She gave us a chance to relax and get Williams’ head on there.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Tori Scott came off the bench and provided the Aggies with six solid defensive minutes on UT's Taber Spani.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Sophomore Tori Scott came off the bench and provided the Aggies with six solid defensive minutes on UT\u0027s Taber Spani.","MediaItemID":28264}
“Scott is the next man up. That’s what the 12th Man is all about. The 12th Man is all about somebody ready to come in if needed, and Scott did just that.”
With Spani held quiet, the Aggies mounted a comeback and were able to tie the game at 52 with 5:48 left on the clock on a pair of free throws by Walker.
The two teams would continue to trade baskets until the 1:20 mark when a jumper by Bone would find the bottom of the net, giving the Aggies the 62-60 lead, their first since the start of the second half.
However, Spani would hit her first field goal since the 13:49 mark of the second half with 54 seconds left to play on Tennessee’s next trip down the court, tying the game once again.
In true form of the back-and-forth fashion which the entire game was played, freshman forward Courtney Williams nailed a baseline jumper on the Aggies ensuing possession to give A&M the 64-62 lead with 35 seconds remaining.
Tennessee would do their best to keep pace with the Aggies on their next trip down the floor, but senior Kamiko Williams would miss a layup and Bone would snag the rebound for A&M.
Bone then passed the ball to Walker who was fouled with 6.4 seconds left. Walker – the team’s best free throw shooter at 79% - converted on both free throws to ice the game, giving the Aggies a spot in their first ever SEC Championship game.
“Our back was against the wall down 10 in the second half,” said Walker. “Somebody just needed to turn it up until everything got going. That’s what I was trying to do.”
While finally beating a top-ten team – something the Aggies failed to do on their first seven tries this season – looks great on the NCAA Tournament résumé, an SEC Championship would look even better.
“If I’m not mistaken, Kentucky borders Tennessee,” said Blair. “You’re not supposed to like someone you’re bordering. I want to see that Tennessee orange pull us through, and I hope they stay.”
His latest decision?
Dropping four of the last five games of the regular season in order for the Aggies to take the fourth seed into the SEC Tournament.
Well, maybe that wasn't intentional, but history proves that A&M performs well when slotted fourth in the conference tournament.
In the past five seasons, A&M has won two conference championships, and both times the Aggies did it as the fourth best team in the regular season.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Junior center Kelsey Bone finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Junior center Kelsey Bone finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds.","MediaItemID":28263}
“How about those young Aggies? We keep finding a way [to win],” Blair exclaimed after the game. “We might not have had Johnny Manziel, but we had some freshman step up. I had leadership out of (Adrienne) Pratcher in the first half, and Bone’s second half was just very, very good.”
Courtney Walker scored 18 points, Kelsey Bone poured in 15 more and Kristi Bellock had 12 and 12 rebounds to lead A&M (23-9).
“Bellock sometimes gets the quietest double-doubles you have ever seen,” said Blair. “She’s a kid that has waited her time. Good things are happening to her.”
Tennessee (24-7) was led by senior Taber Spani who went 11-13 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line for 33 points in a losing effort.
After back-and-forth play for much of the first half, the Aggies and Volunteers were knotted at 22 with 6:22 remaining before the break. Over the next 1:23, A&M would go on a 7-0 run to take a 29-22 lead with 4:59 left in the half. But Tennessee would whittle the A&M advantage to just two going into the locker room on a pair of three-pointers by Spani, the second coming at the halftime buzzer.
Out of the break, the Aggies would miss their first nine shots and allowed Tennessee to build a 10-point, 50-40 lead with 12:48 remaining in the game. Over that time, Spani would connect on two threes and also convert an and-one opportunity for the Volunteers.
That’s when Blair made the decision to go to his bench and sub-in sophomore Tori Scott for freshman Courtney Williams who had been guarding Spani during most of the game.
From that point on, Spani scored just four points.
“Tori is the quickest kid on the team,” stated Blair. “We said, ‘Don’t leave her, don’t let her breathe.’ She gave us a chance to relax and get Williams’ head on there.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Tori Scott came off the bench and provided the Aggies with six solid defensive minutes on UT's Taber Spani.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Sophomore Tori Scott came off the bench and provided the Aggies with six solid defensive minutes on UT\u0027s Taber Spani.","MediaItemID":28264}
With Spani held quiet, the Aggies mounted a comeback and were able to tie the game at 52 with 5:48 left on the clock on a pair of free throws by Walker.
The two teams would continue to trade baskets until the 1:20 mark when a jumper by Bone would find the bottom of the net, giving the Aggies the 62-60 lead, their first since the start of the second half.
However, Spani would hit her first field goal since the 13:49 mark of the second half with 54 seconds left to play on Tennessee’s next trip down the court, tying the game once again.
In true form of the back-and-forth fashion which the entire game was played, freshman forward Courtney Williams nailed a baseline jumper on the Aggies ensuing possession to give A&M the 64-62 lead with 35 seconds remaining.
Tennessee would do their best to keep pace with the Aggies on their next trip down the floor, but senior Kamiko Williams would miss a layup and Bone would snag the rebound for A&M.
Bone then passed the ball to Walker who was fouled with 6.4 seconds left. Walker – the team’s best free throw shooter at 79% - converted on both free throws to ice the game, giving the Aggies a spot in their first ever SEC Championship game.
“Our back was against the wall down 10 in the second half,” said Walker. “Somebody just needed to turn it up until everything got going. That’s what I was trying to do.”
While finally beating a top-ten team – something the Aggies failed to do on their first seven tries this season – looks great on the NCAA Tournament résumé, an SEC Championship would look even better.
When you look around, the other SEC teams are rooting for us because we're the underdog.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"right","Quote":"When you look around, the other SEC teams are rooting for us because we\u0027re the underdog.","Author":"Kelsey Bone"}
After falling to the Kentucky twice this season, A&M will get a third shot at the Wildcats in the championship game tomorrow at 5:00 CT. A victory over Big Blue would give the Aggies wins over every other team in the conference during their inaugural run through the SEC.“If I’m not mistaken, Kentucky borders Tennessee,” said Blair. “You’re not supposed to like someone you’re bordering. I want to see that Tennessee orange pull us through, and I hope they stay.”
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