Kansas City, Mo. - No. 3 Nebraska suffered its first loss of the season, snapping a Big 12-record-tying 30-game winning streak, as No. 11 Texas A&M worked its way to an 80-70 win over the Huskers in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Municipal Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskers slipped to 30-1 overall after struggling through one of their worst shooting days of the season by hitting just 22-of-59 field goal attempts, including 7-of-20 three-pointers. NU also hit just 19-of-32 free throws against the Aggies.
"It wasn't our day today,' Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "We missed a lot of open shots, the ball didn't bounce our way and with Kelsey (Griffin) battling foul trouble all day, that made it pretty tough on us. But you have to give a lot of credit to Texas A&M. They took control of the game early and made the plays to keep us from getting back in the game. I picked Texas A&M to win the Big 12 during the preseason because I think they are the most talented team in our league. I think they showed why today."
Nebraska, which advanced to its first Big 12 semifinal game since 2000, started slow against an inspired Aggie team that was eager to avenge a 71-60 loss to the Huskers in Lincoln on Feb. 3. In that game, NU jumped to a double-digit lead in the first half and never let the Aggies back in the game. A&M, which improved to 24-7 on the year, turned the tables on the Huskers on Saturday, hitting 53.1 percent of its shots from the field, including 5-of-12 three-pointers and 7-of-9 free throws.
Texas A&M also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Huskers, 46-32, as both teams pulled down 13 rebounds. Nebraska won the turnover battle, 17-15, but it wasn't enough to prevent NU from suffering its first loss to a Big 12 South opponent in its last nine games.
Junior guard Dominique Kelley led the Huskers with 18 points, while Griffin added 15 points and seven rebounds despite being strapped with four fouls early in the second half. Griffin, who has fouled out of a game just once since the conclusion of her freshman season in 2005-06, picked up four fouls for just the third time in 2009-10.
Yvonne Turner added 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, while freshman point guard Lindsey Moore added eight points, seven assists and a career-high four steals.
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Danielle Adams led the Aggies with 22 points and nine rebounds, including 20 points in the second half. Adaora Elonu added 18 points and nine rebounds of her own, while Tyra White contributed 13 points and four boards. Sydney Carter added eight points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Sydney Colson contributed eight points, three assists and three steals in an outstanding team effort by the Aggies.
Nebraska struggled from the field in the first half hitting just 11-of-32 shots, including 2-of-10 three-pointers as Texas A&M built an 11-point halftime margin. NU also hit just 4-of-11 free throws, as the Aggies built the biggest lead by any team against the Huskers this season with a pair of 13-point advantages in the first half.
While Nebraska was ice cold from the floor, the Aggies were red hot, connecting on 17-of-33 field goals, including 5-of-10 threes. A&M did not attempt a free throw against the Huskers, as NU committed just six personal fouls, but three of those were whistled on NU's Griffin, who played just 13 first-half minutes before heading to the bench.
Griffin still led NU with nine first-half points and five rebounds, while Turner added six points on back-to-back three-pointers midway through the half. Montgomery also had six points, but hit just 3-of-10 field goal attempts, including 0-for-4 shooting from three-point range.
Texas A&M won the first-half rebounding battle 24-18, while Nebraska forced 10 Aggie turnovers while committing just nine of its own in the opening 20 minutes.
Nebraska will return to Lincoln on Sunday before gathering on Monday evening to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which will be televised live nationally by ESPN. The show begins at 6 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score Texas A&M vs Nebraska 03/13/10 12 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium - Kansas City, Mo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Texas A&M 24-7, 10-6 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 02 Buchanan, Damitria.. * 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 4 0 1 2 2 1 15 04 Carter, Sydney...... * 3-9 2-4 0-0 2 7 9 5 8 4 4 0 0 26 20 White, Tyra......... * 6-11 1-2 0-0 0 4 4 3 13 2 1 0 1 29 21 Elonu, Adaora....... * 7-12 0-0 4-4 4 5 9 3 18 3 3 1 1 31 22 Smith, Tanisha...... * 4-11 0-3 1-2 1 4 5 3 9 4 2 1 0 34 05 Bellock, Kristi..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 Baker, Maryann...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 23 Adams, Danielle..... 10-15 0-1 2-2 4 5 9 3 22 1 1 1 2 23 24 Ashmore, Diamond.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 25 Collins, Skylar..... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 40 Assarian, Kelsey.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 51 Colson, Sydney...... 3-4 2-2 0-1 0 0 0 1 8 3 3 0 3 24 TEAM................ 1 3 4 Totals.............. 34-64 5-12 7-9 13 33 46 25 80 18 17 5 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-33 51.5% 2nd Half: 17-31 54.8% Game: 53.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-2 0.0% Game: 41.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 7-9 77.8% Game: 77.8% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 30-1, 16-0 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 00 Moore, Lindsey...... * 2-5 1-2 3-4 0 1 1 0 8 7 3 1 4 33 22 Turner, Yvonne...... * 4-9 3-7 3-5 2 2 4 2 14 2 0 0 2 32 23 Griffin, Kelsey..... * 7-13 0-0 1-2 4 3 7 4 15 2 2 1 1 26 24 Kelley, Dominique... * 3-8 1-1 11-14 1 1 2 3 18 2 4 0 0 26 40 Montgomery, Cory.... * 4-15 1-6 0-1 3 4 7 1 9 0 1 0 1 32 11 Neals, Nicole....... 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 5 0 2 0 0 16 13 Kuhlmann, Kala...... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 14 35 Periago, Jessica.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 44 Redmon, Catheryn.... 0-1 0-0 1-6 2 4 6 3 1 1 2 4 2 20 TEAM................ 1 1 1 Totals.............. 22-59 7-20 19-32 13 19 32 15 70 15 15 6 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-32 34.4% 2nd Half: 11-27 40.7% Game: 37.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-10 20.0% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 35.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 15-21 71.4% Game: 59.4% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Tina Napier, Beverly Roberts Technical fouls: Texas A&M-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Texas A&M..................... 39 41 - 80 Nebraska...................... 28 42 - 70 Fouled Out: TAMU - #4 Carter @ 3:02 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship - Semifinal #1