Texas A&M
16-5, 4-4
Nebraska
21-0, 8-0
No. 10 Aggies Fall Short Of Upset Bid at Nebraska, 71-60
Feb 06, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2010
Nebraska Box Score in PDF Format 
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Kelsey Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Cory Montgomery added a season-high 18 points and fourth-ranked Nebraska turned back a late comeback attempt by No. 10 Texas A&M to defeat the Aggies 71-60 on Saturday.
The Cornhuskers (21-0, 8-0) won by double digits for the 18th time, but this one wasn't as easy as the score showed.
The Aggies (16-5, 4-4) were within 65-60 in the final three minutes before Dominique Kelley made big plays at both ends to help the Huskers rebuild their lead.
Kelley fed Griffin for an easy layup as the shot clock struck 1, and then she made a rebound on the other end and took it all the way for a layup to break things open. Yvonne Turner and Kelley scored 11 apiece for the Huskers.
Danielle Adams scored 18 points and Tyra White 15 for the Aggies, who have lost four of their last six.
Nebraska remained one of two unbeaten teams left in Division I basketball, joining top-ranked Connecticut.
The Huskers avenged last year's 86-43 loss in College Station, Texas. But that Nebraska team didn't have Griffin, who was out last season with a foot injury.
Griffin gave the Huskers a presence inside to counter the burly Adams and the rest of the physical Aggies.
Held scoreless the first 11 minutes, Griffin rolled off six straight points in 43 seconds to give Nebraska a 10-point lead after White's jumper pulled the Aggies within 22-18.
The Huskers led 40-29 at half and 61-47 when Yvonne Turner, who missed six 3-pointers in a row, connected from behind the arc.
Maryann Baker's 3 got the Aggies within seven points, but Griffin's two free throws and strong move to the basket for a layup restored the Huskers' double-digit lead before Texas A&M made its late run.
Adams hit a jumper, Tanisha Smith stole the ball from Lindsey Moore and went in for a layup to make it 65-60 with 3:06 left.
The Huskers had bumps and bruises to show for this one. Several hard fouls left Nebraska players on the floor, including one by Smith that sent Montgomery into the padding on the goal standard and left her dazed momentarily.
Texas A&M, which only took two free throws the entire game, hasn't won a true road game since its conference opener at Texas on Jan. 9.
The Aggies will remain on the road with a Wednesday, Feb. 10 rematch at Big 12 South rival Texas Tech at 7 p.m. (CT) in Lubbock, Texas.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the first time this year, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (0-1).
• The loss marked the Aggies' third-straight on the road in league play and its eighth loss in nine tries when playing Nebraska in Lincoln. A&M had won four of the last five meetings between the two schools prior to Saturday's contest.
• A&M's 11-point loss was the third-smallest margin of victory among Big 12 Conference teams against Nebraska this season. The Cornhuskers averaged a 24.2+ scoring margin versus opponents prior to the ballgame.
• Danielle Adams turned in her third-straight double-digit game in league play with a team-high 18 points. She was one of seven players to total nine blocked shots in the contest with two against the Huskers.
• Tyra White reached double figures for the 13th time this season with 15 points. She brought down a team-leading eight rebounds and has now led the team in the rebounding column on three occasions.
• Maryann Baker came off the bench and contributed a league career-best seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and 1-of-1 shooting from beyond the arc against Nebraska. She also tied a career-high with one blocked shot.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"I think it's pretty special that the two so-called football schools, Nebraska and Texas A&M, can play to this type of level of basketball. This is what it's all about in the Big 12. They have something special here. This is a team that has a great chance of getting to the Final Four, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, but the road gets a little bit tougher (in this league). This is a team that Connie (Yori) deserves and she's worked hard. They play with so much emotion. We were perfectly ready to play in front of a sellout crowd. We've been there before. We've been the TV darling team (over the last couple of years) playing the Oklahoma's, Baylor's and Texas', now it's time for someone else to have their turn and that's Nebraska. I'd love to see them go undefeated until the conference tournament - then you have a new season. The crowd, the atmosphere, the emotion and starting out on a 9-2 run and getting those threes. Give Nebraska credit. In the second half, when we made our comeback, they weren't slipping. We were playing a 25-second defense and they were burning us on the last five seconds. We are pretty damn good on defense, too. I thought their defense was actually better than their offense tonight. I'm excited about the fight we had in our kids, because as well as Nebraska has played, they can bury a team by 25. We are not a roll over team and we are trying to get better."
On trying to cut the lead down in the second half ...
"I think it's the preparation and the respect we have for the opponent when we come in. When you've been to the Sweet 16 the last two years, there's no fear. We've faced Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor and Nebraska in our first four road games. I wasn't pleased with our (Big 12) schedule this year. We are a good basketball team and hopefully, we came of age today. We didn't let adversity get to us, responded and made some changes in the ballgame."
Texas A&M Junior Forward/Center Danielle Adams
On her game plan against Nebraska ...
"I just tried to get it in as much as possible. Some of my jump shots weren't falling in the beginning, so I decided to take it in strongly and take it down low. I wasn't expecting to really take jump shots during this game. I was expecting to drive and post up."
