Texas A&M
25-2,13-1SEC
Iowa State
17-11,12-6Big 12
Nixon's Buzzer Beater Delivers Aggies to Sweet 16
Mar 24, 2021 | Women's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO (AP)--Jordan Nixon banked in a short jump shot at the buzzer in overtime, giving her a career-high 35 points and lifting No. 2 Texas A&M to an 84-82 victory over seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Wednesday.
Nixon scored seven of A&M's nine points in OT, pushing the Aggies (25-2) into the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. She also led the rally in the fourth quarter, scoring the last four points of regulation.
A 3 by Lexi Donarski put the Cyclones up by two with two minutes left in overtime, and Nixon tied it with a layup a few seconds later. Ciera Johnson blocked a layup by Ashley Joens with 3 seconds left before Nixon drove into the lane and threw up the game-winner.
The dramatic finish comes after the Aggies narrowly escaped an upset bid by No. 15 seed Troy in the first round. Texas A&M is chasing its second title in the 10th anniversary of its first one. It won its first SEC regular-season title this season and rose to as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 for the highest ranking in school history.
Next up is No. 3 seed Arizona, which advanced with a 52-46 win over BYU.
Joens had 32 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Cyclones (17-11), who went 16 for 30 from 3-point range. Donarski finished with 18 points.
Johnson had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Aggies, who are in the tournament for the 15th straight time.
Texas A&M trailed 75-71 with 20 seconds left in regulation, but Nixon made a short jumper and Alexis Morris forced a jump ball with Donarski to get the ball back for A&M with 11.2 seconds remaining. Morris appeared to take an elbow to the jaw and officials reviewed the play, but they did not assess a penalty on Donarski.
Nixon drove into the lane for a tying layup with 6 seconds left. Joens had a chance to win the game in regulation, but her shot was blocked by N'dea Jones. The ball went out of bounds, but the Cyclones weren't able to get another shot up.
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POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- After its buzzer-beating victory, Texas A&M improves to 25-2 overall and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
- Iowa State concludes its 2020-21 season with a 17-11 overall record and a 1-1 performance in the Big Dance.
- In the all-time series between the Aggies and Cyclones, the Maroon & White have won five-consecutive games and now trail Iowa State 14-9.
- A&M earned the victory in the first-ever matchup between the two schools in the NCAA Tournament.
- Texas A&M's record in overtime games is now 21-15 all-time, and even at 1-1 in the 2020-21 campaign.
TEAM NOTES
- The Maroon & White's all-time record at the NCAA Tournament improves to 29-15 with a 9-5 record in Second Round games.
- Texas A&M notches its third-straight visit to the Sweet 16 dating back to the 2018 NCAA Tournament and its ninth appearance all-time.
- Iowa State launched a barrage of 3-pointers and took a 10-point lead after the first quarter, 22-12.
- Jordan Nixon opened the floodgates at the start of the second and scored the Aggies first seven points of the period, bringing Texas A&M within three.
- A&M utilized a 14-point frame from Nixon and strong defense to cut its first quarter deficit in half, trailing 35-30 at the intermission.
- The fourth stanza featured a litany of clutch baskets from the likes of Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Nixon, with Texas A&M tying the game with less than five seconds remaining to force overtime.
- Nixon scored seven of the Aggies points in the decisive overtime period, including the game-winning layup as time expired to punch A&M's ticket to the Sweet 16.
- Throughout all of regulation the Aggies never maintained a lead. Nixon's 3-pointer at the beginning of overtime was Texas A&M's first advantage in the game.
- Texas A&M led for 1:35, which stands as the fourth-lowest amount of time led in a win since the 2012-13 campaign.
- A&M trailed by as many as nine points in the final period and came back to win, tying the Aggies victory over LSU on Jan. 22, 2017 for the fifth-largest fourth quarter comeback in program history.
- Nixon's layup as time expired was A&M's first game-winning basket at the buzzer since Danielle Gant hit a free throw on Jan. 30, 2007 to defeat Oklahoma State, 64-63.
- Overall, the Aggies finished with a 43.4% shooting clip from the floor compared to Iowa State's 40.6% mark.
- A&M absolutely dominated the turnover battle (24-7) and capitalized on those opportunities, outscoring the Cyclones in points off turnovers by a 26-11 margin.
- Opposing playstyles were on display, with Texas A&M torching Iowa State for 44 points in the paint while surrendering only 18.
- In transition scoring opportunities, A&M outscored the Cyclones by an 18-9 margin, including Nixon's buzzer-beating game-winner.
- The Aggie defense put on a dominant display down low, swatting away a season-high 11 blocks as a team.
- A&M's 11 blocks on Tuesday night ties the highest number of blocks by an Aggie team in NCAA Tournament history. The only other game in which Texas A&M swatted 11 shots in the tournament was on March 23, 2014, in the first-round win over North Dakota.
- The Maroon & White opened their second-round matchup with a lineup of Aaliyah Wilson, Jordan Nixon, Kayla Wells, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson
- Texas A&M has utilized the same starting lineup in all 27 matchups this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Jordan Nixon provided one of the most historic performances in Texas A&M program history on Tuesday, as the sophomore scored a career-high 35 points while setting a new career high in minutes played with 45.
- Her historic performance ties the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament-High score set by Iowa's Caitlin Clark on Tuesday (March 23) against Kentucky.
- The New York native made the most field goals by an Aggie in an NCAA Tournament game, hitting 16 of her 28 shot attempts.
- Nixon tied the A&M record for second-most field goals made all-time, a milestone last met by Aggie legends Lori Foreman and Danielle Adams.
- The sophomore guard's 35-point total tied three other Aggies for the sixth-highest scoring game in Texas A&M program history. The last A&M student-athlete to reach that milestone was Chennedy Carter in the 2019 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 against Notre Dame.
- Her scoring total also ties Carter for the second highest scoring performance by an Aggie in an NCAA Tournament game.
- The Mary Louis Academy product has scored in double figures 14 times this season, 15 times in her career, eight times consecutively, and has dropped 20-or-more points in both of Texas A&M's games during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
- Aside from her scoring accomplishments, Nixon also finished with seven assists, tying for fifth in program history for dimes in an NCAA Tournament matchup.
- Nixon's passing saw her finish with five-or-more assists for the seventh time this season and marks the eighth such occasion in her career.
- Ciera Johnson commanded attention in the paint, unloading a season-high 19 points in 32 minutes of action.
- The Duncanville, Texas, native also reached a new season-high mark in field goals made, draining eight of her 12 shot attempts.
- Johnson reached double-digits in scoring for the 19th time this season and 67th time in her career.
- N'dea Jones showed up in clutch moments defensively, rejecting a season-high four blocks while scoring nine points and 14 rebounds in 38 minutes on the floor.
- Jones' block total ties for the second highest number of swatted shots by an Aggie in the NCAA Tournament, tying Karla Gilbert's performance in the First Round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
- Jones hauled in double-digit rebounds for the 19th time this season and 65th time in her illustrious career.
- Aaliyah Wilson finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 44 minutes of action.
- The Muskogee, Oklahoma, native has scored in double figures 21 times during the 2020-21 season and 40 times in her career.
- Destiny Pitts completed her Second Round performance with a game-high two steals to go along with a game-high plus-11 plus/minus.
- In his career as a head coach, Gary Blair improves to 838-332 overall with a 430-169 record at Texas A&M.
- The Women's Basketball Hall-of-Famer is now 41-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M women's basketball continues its run in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, as the Aggies prepare to challenge the No. 3-seed Arizona Wildcats. The Sweet 16 matchup is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday, March 27 with nationwide television coverage available on ESPN2.
Tickets may be purchased here.
Note: limited tickets are available for Saturday night's Sweet 16 matchup with Arizona.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
