No. 15 Women Upset 11th-Ranked Mississippi State, 64-58

Thursday, February 11

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

17-7, 7-4SEC

Mississippi State

21-5, 8-4SEC

Mississippi State

Texas A&M

Feb 11, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Associated Press/Texas A&M Media Relations

COLLEGE STATION, Texas-- No. 15 Texas A&M picked up a crucial Southeastern Conference win, defeating No. 11 Mississippi State 64-58 in a women's basketball game at Reed Arena Thursday evening.

The Aggies (17-7, 7-4 SEC) played their seventh consecutive game decided by 10-or-fewer points, and rallied from an 11-point second quarter deficit to defeat Mississippi State (21-5, 8-4 SEC). The Aggies are only a half-game behind Mississippi State for second in the SEC standings, and have clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulldogs.

Courtney Williams led the Aggies with 22 points, and Courtney Walker had 21, marking Walker's fourth straight 20+ point game.

The Aggies did not lead in the game until 1:32 of the third quarter, when Williams scored to put the Aggies up 46-45. After the teams traded baskets on the next two possessions, A&M took the lead for good. Mississippi State never had a possession where they could have tied the game in the entire fourth quarter.

Morgan William, who had a team-high 18 points for Mississippi State, hit two free throws with 47 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs an 11-point lead. The Aggies rattled off five points in the last 15 seconds of the half, capped by a Taylor Cooper 3-pointer, cutting the halftime deficit to 32-26 and giving A&M a huge momentum boost into the half.

The win was Texas A&M's 200^th at Reed Arena. The Aggies are 11-2 at Reed this season.

The Aggies return to action on Monday, February 15 at 6 p.m. at Ole Miss. The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Thursday, February 18 to host LSU in the BTHO Breast Cancer Game at 8 p.m.

QUICKIE NOTES

The Aggies are now 17-7 and 7-4 in the SEC, good for a tie for third place. The Aggies are only a half-game behind, and have clinched the tiebreaker over, second-place Mississippi State, who is 21-5 and 8-4 in the SEC
This is Texas A&M's 200^th win all-time at Reed Arena. The Aggies are 11-2 at Reed this season and 200-72 all-time at Reed.
This is the Aggies' seventh straight game that has come down to the final minute. The 28 combined margin of victory is the fewest in A&M history for a seven-game stretch, and it is the first time A&M has played seven straight games decided by fewer than 10 points
This is A&M's sixth comeback of nine or more points this season and fourth in SEC play. A&M rallied from an 11-point deficit
This is only the third time in their four seasons as teammates, and first time in an SEC regular season game, that Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams have scored 20+ points in the same game. The Aggies are 1-2 in those games.
Courtney Walker, the SEC's leading scorer, scored 20+ points for the fourth consecutive game, making her the first Aggie to have four straight 20+ games since Courtney Williams in 2013-14.
- Walker has eight 20+ point games in 12 SEC games this season. She has a Texas A&M-record 32 20+ point games in her career.
- She scored in double figures for the 16^th straight game and 23^rd time in 24 games this season. She has 97 career double-figure scoring games, which ranks second at Texas A&M
- She made her 128^th career start, which ranks second at Texas A&M and represents every game of her career so far.
- She missed her first free throw since Jan. 21 in today's game.
Courtney Williams had 20+ points for the fourth time this season, but first time since Dec. 20. She had been hampered by injury since. She has 16 career 20+ point games.
- She scored in double figures for the 11^th time this season and 67^th time in her career. Her 67^th double-figure scoring game moves her past Danielle Adams for sole possession of 7^th on A&M's career double-digit scoring list.
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 712-289 in his career and 304-126 in 13 seasons at Texas A&M
The Aggies return to action on Monday, February 15 at 6 p.m. at Ole Miss. The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Thursday, February 18 to host LSU in the BTHO Breast Cancer Game at 8 p.m.

QUOTES

Mississippi State Head Coach Vic Schaefer
Opening Statement…
"We are disappointed but it was a heck of a basketball game. Real proud of my kids, love how competitive they are. We don't always make the right decisions. We are still a young immature team at times. At the end of the first half is a great example of our youth and inexperience. We were up nine and we needed to get the last shot off and we hurried something and next thing you know they come down and get a three to get the score down to six. Really proud of how hard we competed today."

Facing A&M…
"We were going against two of the best guards in the country. Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams are just really, really good. I felt like we did an adequate job at halftime holding them to 8-of-18 but in the second half they came out and went 10-of-17. We did a fairly good job on everybody else. It's hard to deal with Courtney Williams when she is rising over you and hitting those shots. I figured she was going to go off today and I wasn't wrong."

On A&M Playing through injuries…
"It hardly ever works out when you're facing a wounded team. They always rally around the wounded warrior and just find a way to win. You really have to tip your hat off to Curtyce Knox, had five assists and only one turnover and led her team on a day when they needed her. You have to commend her for a great job. Shlonte (Allen) hadn't played a lot and she played well for them. Made two big shots and three steals in only ten minutes. Both those kids come in a give Jordan (Jones) a blow and they never missed a beat in my mind."

Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
"Folks, seven straight I don't think it's going to change. Seven straight games, we are 4-3 in these last-second situations. I'm so proud of how our kids responded. Give so much credit to Curtyce Knox and Shlonte Allen for rising up and being that 12^th Man, if you will. Shlonte [Allen] was going so fast that we just had to slow her down. She gave us three steals, she penetrated and gave out an assist.

"In the second half when they switched to a zone, she hit the very first shot on the screen by Rachel [Mitchell] and that helped us right there. We weren't ready for that zone but that's what they did against Tennessee in the last quarter and it worked for a while. [Taylor] Cooper's half time shot was as big as any shot in the game. Our kids felt good coming off the court because one we stopped [Victoria] Vivian's down on the other end. She pretty much had a point blank look and then we were able to get the rebound, Walker being unselfish found Cooper. That's what she is there for, she is a big time player that makes plays."

"The key basket in the second half was Curtyce Knox's; the little layup underneath where there was nothing there. We had nobody open and we had nobody behind her. How she got that thing up in a forest of trees there just give a little credit. If you sat and watched a Jordan Jones for so many years and got to play against her every day in practice all of a sudden from what that kid has gone through this year give that kid a whole lot of credit. "

On the guards stepping up this game…
"Curtyce Knox 5 assists only one turnover hit the key basket… If we can hold their best player [Victoria Vivans] under 30% I guarantee the majority of the time we were going to win. I thought we could exploit them inside a little bit better."

Texas A&M Senior Guard/Forward Courtney Williams
On the game…
"I just really had to get my rhythm back, knowing where I succeed on the court and where I get most of my points. So I had to get to the hole in transition because that really opens things up for my teammates. When I make them better that makes me better. I took my time and I let the game come to me."
Texas A&M Senior Guard Courtney Walker…

Winning without Jordan Jones…
I think we all did a good job picking up some of the things that Jordan does so well. Our seniors did a good job of talking today, because that's one thing that Jordan does really well, keeping everybody on the same page. We really had to communicate switching back and forth from zone to man. Also had to talk to know who we were matching up with in the zone."

On the close win…
"I think it's a huge win to show that we learned from all the close games that we lost. Everyone knows that we have a long stretch of really close games. We are really coming together down the stretch. And even this game we didn't have our star point guard but everyone stepped up. We were just able to pull it out together."