Texas A&M
25-4, 13-3
Nebraska
13-17, 3-13
No. 5 Aggies Rout Nebraska, 84-49
Mar 05, 2011 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Danielle Adams leads No. 5 Texas A&M in scoring, but it's Sydney Colson that keeps the Aggies' offense rolling.
Adams had 23 points and eight rebounds and Colson had a career-high 15 assists as Texas A&M coasted to an 84-49 win over Nebraska on Saturday night.
The victory gets the Aggies back on track entering next week's Big 12 tournament after losing at Kansas State on Wednesday.
The Aggies (25-4, 13-3) were up by a bucket early in the second half before scoring 14 straight points to extend their lead to 49-33 with about 16 minutes left. Adams and Sydney Carter both hit 3-pointers in that span. Then Colson brought the crowd to its feet with a behind the back pass to Adaora Elonu, who finished with a layup to cap the run.
The Cornhuskers were frazzled by Texas A&M's full-court press and committed four turnovers and went almost 4 minutes without a basket.
"Colson really controlled the game, especially in the second half, and we just couldn't keep up with her," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "In the second half their athleticism just outran us and Colson was the leader of that."
Colson's 15 assists are the most ever against Nebraska and rank fourth all-time in Texas A&M history.
"She's a magician when she's at full throttle and not getting into foul trouble," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said.
Colson, a senior, beamed when asked about finishing with a career best in assists after the game.
"That's awesome," she said. "I owe it all to them. They were knocking down the shots. I had the easy job just to find them."
Carter had 14 points and tied a career best with four 3-pointers, and Elonu chipped in 14 points.
Freshman Jordan Hooper scored 16 points for Nebraska (13-17, 3-13), which has lost nine of its last 10.
Nebraska had 18 turnovers, which Texas A&M converted into 30 points, and the Aggies outrebounded the Cornhuskers 44-29.
The Huskers couldn't recover after A&M's big run at the beginning of the second half and the Aggies continued to build on their lead. They were up by 18 points before a 12-0 spurt extended their advantage to 69-39 with 9 minutes remaining. Reserve Adrienne Pratcher scored seven points in that run.
Adams, a senior playing in her final home game, left with about 4 minutes remaining to a standing ovation and stopped to hug Blair on her way to the bench.
Lindsey Moore added 13 points and 10 assists for Nebraska, but also had 11 turnovers.
"In the second half they seemed to sag off a little bit making those passes tougher to make," she said. "They did a good job in the passing lanes and making things difficult for me."
Adams, the Big 12's leading scorer, started off strong, scoring eight of Texas A&M's first 12 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. She cooled down after that and scored just two more points the rest of the half. She finished with three 3-pointers.
"She's got to be one of the most versatile players in the country," Yori said. "She leads the Big 12 in scoring for a reason."
The Aggies led by three points before an 8-2 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer by Catheryn Redmon, put the Cornhuskers on top 22-19 midway through the first half.
Texas A&M regained the lead with a 10-2 run that made it 29-24 about 6 minutes before halftime and the Aggies led 35-31 at the break.
Up next, the Aggies travel to Kansas City, Mo., for the Big 12 Tournament and as the No. 2 seed will play Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Maryann Baker, Tyra White, Karla Gilbert and Danielle Adams. The Aggies are 1-0 with this starting lineup. All 14 Aggies saw playing time in Saturday's game.
- The 35-point margin of victory was A&M's largest against Nebraska since a 43-point margin of victory on Feb. 8, 2009 in College Station.
- Texas A&M secured second place in the Big 12, finishing conference play at 13-3 to match the best league record in school history (13-3 in 2006-07).
- The Aggies' 25 wins are the fourth-most in school history and just four shy of the school record (29 in 2008).
- The senior class of Danielle Adams, Maryann Baker, Sydney Colson and Catherine Snow became the winningest in school history Saturday, with a 107-28 (.793) record since their arrival in Aggieland.
- For the seventh time this season, the Aggies registered 20+ assists in a game.
- Danielle Adams has now reached double figures in 37 of the last 38 games
- Adaora Elonu registered double figures for the 11th time this season.
- Adrienne Pratcher scored career-high nine points, going 4-of-5 from the floor.
- The attendance of 8,981 was the second largest crowd this season and the third largest in program history.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gary Blair
On defensive adjustments at the half ...
"I thought coach Schaefer made some very good adjustments at half time and the players came out focused. The crowd was tremendous in the second half. The press was forcing Nebraska to turn the ball over and we shared the ball well tonight."
On Sydney Colson's performance...
"She's very special. She's a magician when she's at full throttle and not getting into foul trouble. That's the whole thing with Sydney Colson, staying out of foul trouble. She was close to the school record (19 assists). I told her with about seven or eight minutes to go that I was going to put the ball in her hands and that she needed to thread the needle."
On struggling in the first half ...
"I thought we did, of course when I was going with a large lineup, that's where I want the ball to go, inside. We just weren't patient enough to get it inside. What could've set our triple-post offense up was if we could have scored consistently in transition, but we didn't do that in the first half, fortunately we did in the second."
On if he likes where his team is right now...
"I like where our record is. We're going to try to keep working, but we told our team before the game that we didn't have anything to play for except for a win for our seniors. We wanted to improve on our execution and do the little things. We only turned the ball over two times in the last 30 minutes and that's improvement. That's what we have to do if we're going to really be a contender."
SENIOR GUARD Sydney Colson
On what was said at halftime...
"We weren't upset, because there wasn't that much that we were doing badly. They were getting some layups, and things like that, but we just weren't scoring. We weren't getting the ball to Danielle, and we struggled, like with Kansas State, until we figured out what worked for us."
On her career-assist performance...
"My teammates know I like to run I was telling them every time that if they got the ball off of a rebound to just find me and I'll find you on the other end of the court. I don't know what to say, they were knocking down the shots. I had the easy job, just setting someone up for the basket."
On playing in the Big 12 Tournament...
"I'm excited going into it, because I know we always go up there and give it a fight each year. We have Kansas City girls and they always play well there. We always have good focus going into it."
SENIOR FORWARD Danielle Adams
On her start to the first half....
"I was pretty hot to start the first half, those two three pointers and an offensive put back, but then I saw myself go into a slump and picked up a pair of fouls and had to sit the bench for a while. I just came back in the second half and tried to play aggressively."
On if this win puts A&M in a good place going into the Big 12 Tournament...
"Yes I do. We played a bad game up at K-state, but we put that behind us and looked forward to the Nebraska game. This win puts us in a great place for the Big 12 tournament, just going in with a clear mind."
SENIOR GUARD Maryann Baker
On the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City...
"We need to go out there and just prove ourselves. We've been successful in Kansas City, but we need to play like we did in the second half here. For us seniors, it'll be the third time in two years we get to play there and we have to go take care of business."
SENIOR GUARD Catherine Snow
On getting playing time on Senior Night...
"I typically don't come out looking for playing time, because practice is my `game'. I just take it as a blessing."
NEBRASKA HEAD COACH CONNIE YORI
On Sydney Colson's play along with other A&M seniors...
"I want to congratulate the A&M seniors. I thought their seniors played well. Sydney Colson really controlled the game second half, and we just couldn't keep up with her. In the second half, their athleticism out ran us, and Colson was the leader of that."
On Danielle Adams' play...
"She's one of the most versatile players in the country. When you can hit a three from 24 feet, then go down and draw a foul and make a free throw as well ... Not many people can do that, make a three point play from both places on the court."
