Gary Blair
Walker and Williams
Andy Landers
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Courtney Walker scored 25 points to lead A&M. Walker has scored 20+ six times this season.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Courtney Williams had another double figure game, scoring 13 points in 33 minutes of action.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M's Tori Scott provided a spark off the bench, totaling 11 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.
Largest comeback since '05, A&M defeats Georgia 78-73 in OT
In the Southeastern Conference, the words ‘gimme game’ do not exist.
Although the No. 14 Texas A&M women’s basketball team was already familiar with that theory, they received even more confirmation on Thursday night.
Behind 25 points from sophomore Courtney Walker, including 21 after halftime, the Aggies completed their biggest comeback since 2003 and defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 78-73 in overtime in front of 4,757 fans at Reed Arena.
The victory pushes A&M’s conference record to 9-2 and keeps them tied with Tennessee for second place in the league standings.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Courtney Walker scored 25 points to lead A&M. Walker has scored 20+ six times this season.
“I loved the fight on my team,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair. “We found a way to win a ball game when not at our best. That’s what I’m happy about.”
A terrible first half shooting performance from the Aggies (19-6) allowed the Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7) to gain control of the contest from the get-go and open up a lead as large as 16 at 27-11 with 3:29 remaining before the break.
However, after starting 0-of-4 from the field, Walker hit a pair of jumpers before halftime to keep the margin manageable at 12 as the teams went to the locker room. Still, A&M scored just 17 points during the period – their lowest total for a single half since 2005.
“Those shots kind of got me going,” said Walker. “They were motivating. I was missing shots, but I wasn’t really taking the ones I should have been taking.”
The second half was a completely different story.
Still down 12 with 13:51 remaining, A&M forward Achiri Ade connected on a layup which sparked a 13-0 run for the home team over the next three and a half minutes. The final three points of the run, a deep ball from point guard Jordan Jones, gave A&M a 38-35 lead.
The Aggie lead didn’t last long however, as the Bulldogs stormed back to a seven point advantage with 6:47 showing on a three ball from Khaalidah Miller.
“We answered,” said Georgia head coach and Hall of Famer Andy Landers. “I remember one point in the game where each team went down and scored for three or four minutes. I was impressed that once A&M did get the lead that we came right back and made plays and went back up.”
With just over a minute remaining in regulation and A&M down six, a series of buckets off Georgia turnovers from Walker and point guard Jordan Jones allowed the Aggies to tie the game at 62 with 24 seconds on the clock. Jones finished the night with 11 points and six assists.
“We ran a play to the other side and couldn’t get it in,” said Blair. “Jordan was on ball reversal. She just attacked and it was a huge basket.
“The kid isn’t afraid of anything. She can take hard coaching. I was on her pretty hard at halftime and she responded.”
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Courtney Williams had another double figure game, scoring 13 points in 33 minutes of action.
After Jones’ tying basket, the Bulldogs turned it over once again which gave A&M’s Courtney Williams what would be a game-winning look from three as the buzzer expired. Unfortunately for the Aggies, Williams shot rimmed out, forcing overtime.
“Turnovers,” said Landers in response to how A&M was able come back in the final two minutes. “Turnovers out in the middle of the floor that lead to quick baskets and layups.”
In overtime, the duo of Walker and Williams scored A&M’s first eight points, but the Aggies found themselves tied at 72 after Georgia’s Shacobia Barbee completed a three-point chance with 59 seconds on the clock. Walker picked up her fifth foul on the play and was forced to go to the bench.
On the next possession, Williams hit a free throw line jumper to give the lead back to the Aggies and A&M never gave trailed again.
Barbee split a pair of free throws on the Bulldogs’ next trip down the floor, but with the clock waning and the Aggies still ahead, Georgia was forced to foul.
Jones then hit a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left in overtime to put A&M up three before an awkward three-point attempt from Georgia’s Tiaria Griffin was rebounded by Curtyce Knox. Knox was immediately fouled with eight seconds on the clock and sent to the stripe.
The redshirt freshman missed both her freethrows, but A&M guard Tori Scott gathered the second shot’s rebound and was put on the line. Scott hit both her free throws and iced the game in the process.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M's Tori Scott provided a spark off the bench, totaling 11 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.
“I think it was good that we stayed together,” stated Walker. “I think we need to come out better, but when we got down we regrouped ourselves and stayed together and were able to finish the comeback.”
Now A&M makes the trip to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-13, 4-7). The Aggies defeated the Tide 58-44 in the first conference game of the year at Reed, but Blair knows A&M must be in top shape if they want to pick up their fifth conference road victory this year.
“[Alabama head coach Kristy Curry] has won four ball games,” concluded Blair. “They were supposed to come in dead last. We will be totally prepared for them because we cannot afford a letdown."
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