SEC Champs: A&M takes tourney with 75-67 win vs. UK

Duluth, Ga. — The Texas A&M women’s basketball team started the season 0-3 after back-to-back-to-back losses against top-10 teams. People criticized A&M head coach Gary Blair for scheduling the early gauntlet. Some even called him “crazy” to do so.

After dropping the home opener to No. 9 Penn State in the Aggies’ second game of the year, Blair stated, “I'm not in this to win games. I'm in this to win championships."

Turns out, Blair knew what he was doing all along.

On Sunday, No. 19 Texas A&M earned its first SEC crown by defeating the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats, 75-67 in the championship game of the 2013 SEC Tournament.

The Aggies lost to the Wildcats, 65-62 and 70-66, in the first two meetings of the season.

“It’s hard to beat us three times,” said Blair. “I think our team will say Kentucky is great. Here was the difference in the last two games: Kentucky played 40 minutes. We played 37 both times and we lost. We knew if we played 40 minutes, they couldn’t stay with us.”

Junior center Kelsey Bone picked up her 14th double-double of the season, recording 18 points and 15 boards to lead A&M (24-9) after sitting most of the first half with foul trouble. Senior forward Kristi Bellock also scored 15 and Courtney Walker had 14 for the Aggies.

“Courtney Walker is amazing,” Bellock said of the freshman. “She’s our energy player. When everyone else doesn’t make shots, Coach Blair calls her number and she steps up every time. I’m happy we have her on our team.”

Kentucky (27-5) was led by All-American and SEC Co-Player of the Year A’dia Mathies, who had 19 points in a losing effort.

The Aggies held the lead for most of the first 12 minutes of play, but a second personal foul by Bone with 8:34 left on the clock forced Blair to sit his leader for the remainder of the first half. With Bone on the bench, Kentucky looked to regroup and take advantage of Bone’s replacement Karla Gilbert.

But Gilbert held firm, turning in five points during 12 solid first half minutes.

Down three with 2:24 remaining before the break, sharp-shooter Jennifer O’Neill rattled off seven-straight points for Kentucky, surging the Wildcats to a 36-34 lead at the break.

“It’s a testament to my team and to the depth we have,” said Bone. “I can sit on the bench for more than eight minutes [in the first half] and we’re only down by two points. It’s not like they opened up this lead and we had to come back and fight — we were only down two points.”

A&M started the second half on an 11-2 run, building a seven-point, 45-38 lead in the process.

Kentucky’s Bria Goss hit a three-pointer with 13:37 left in the game to cut the A&M lead to three, but for the next six-plus minutes, the Aggies' stifling defense would hold the Wildcats off the board.

“Coach [Bob] Starkey’s defense is tremendous, just like what Coach [Vic] Schaefer used to do for us a different way,” stated Blair. “It’s very good. We held another team to 35 percent again.”

Over that span, A&M grew its lead to 11 ... the largest up to that point.

The Wildcats would make a late run, cutting a 15-point Aggie advantage to seven on a jumper by Mathies with 3:12 left, but Blair’s battle-tested team withstood the push and finished off Kentucky for its third conference crown in six years.

“[Winning the title] is very special to me,” said Bellock. “I’m just excited that we got the trophy. I’m excited because we did it on our own. We didn’t have the Sydney Carters, Tyra Whites or Danielle Adams. We did it with our seniors and with Kelsey.”

With their first SEC championship in the fold, Blair and his Aggies proved that A&M will be a forced to be reckoned with — not just in women’s basketball or football, but across the board in all sports.

“Texas A&M, it’s an all-purpose school,” said Blair. “We’re not just a football school. We win in everything. Every sport we compete in, we win.”