Five Thoughts: #19 Texas A&M 66, #9 Tennessee 62

1. What. A. Game. (Yes, I channeled my 'inner-Gabe' using periods after each word; that's how good this game was) This victory over No. 9 and top-seeded Tennessee is by far the biggest win of the year for the Aggies. It could even be argued that this game was the biggest win for the A&M program since the 2011 National Championship game. After falling to top-10 teams seven times earlier this season, Gary Blair and his Aggies finally broke through today and in dramatic fashion.

Tennessee senior Taber Spani scored a game-high 33 points, 18 of which came in the first half. While the Aggies left Spani open a few too many times, they also held SEC Co-Player of the Year Meighan Simmons to 10, more than seven points below her season average. A&M also held SEC Freshman of the Year Bashaara Graves to just four, over 10 points below her season average. All in all, the Aggies played very solid defense, particularly in the last 14 minutes of the game.

Another stat worth mentioning, the Aggies also hit on nine of 11 free throws, including two big ones from freshman Courtney Walker to ice the game with 6.4 seconds remaining.

2. It's hard to pinpoint one Player of the Game for the Aggies. Walker hit some big shots down the stretch and led all A&M scorers with 18. Adrienne Pratcher scored 15 and dished out five assists with only one turnover. Kelsey Bone had 15 and grabbed five rebounds. Kristi Bellock recorded her eighth double-double of the year bringing in 12 points and 12 assists. This truly was a 'team victory' in every sense of the word and wouldn't have been possible without everyone doing their part. However, I think Pratcher and Walker deserve an extra tip of the cap today for playing the entire 40 minutes and their ability to fight through tired legs. Out of the 80 minutes of action the Aggies have seen in the tournament so far, Pratcher has played all but three of them, while Walker has been in for all but six.

3. With 13:48 left in the game and Tennessee up 48-40, Blair subbed in sophomore Tori Scott for Courtney Williams. Williams defensive assignment for the day was Spani, and at that point in the game, Spani was lighting it up from the floor and had 29 points to her name. The smaller, quicker Scott was able to stick to Spani the entire time she was on her and held Spani to zero points while guarding her. A&M was able to make a run during the stretch that Scott was on the floor and found themselves down four when Blair opted to go back to Williams.

While Scott only saw six minutes of game action, she was able to disrupt Spani's shooting rhythm to the point where the Tennessee senior became almost a non-factor down the stretch. In the post-game press conference, Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick said she believed Scott came in for a reason and that her defensive tenacity denied Spani a chance at shooting the basketball. Warlick then applauded Blair for his decision to change things up by putting Scott in for Williams.

4. Each time we do a 'Five Thoughts' we try to focus on the A&M bench. However, A&M's starting five played well enough to really limit the minutes of the bench in this one. Scott saw six minutes for Williams, Karla Gilbert came in for nine minutes and recorded two points and five rebounds, freshman point guard Jordan Jones played five minutes and Peyton Little saw seven minutes of action.

One thing of note which worries me a little is the play of Little as of late. The freshman from Abilene was really stroking it well through the middle of conference play, but has gone ice cold shooting the ball. Her last made basket came against Ole Miss on February 21st and since that time, she has gone 0-for-8 from the field. I'm not sure if it's a mental thing with her, or if the longevity of the college season has taken a toll on her legs, but the Aggies seem to miss her timely three-pointers that she was capable of hitting earlier in the season.

5. A&M has no time to bask in their first win pf the season over a top-10 team. The No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats defeated No. 12 Georgia 60-38 in the night cap at the Gwinnett Center after trailing the Bulldogs 24-19 at the half. The Aggies have seen the Wildcats twice this year already, and lost both times by no more than four points. Blair and company know exactly what they're going to get out of Big Blue and will aim to stop SEC Co-Player of the Year A'dia Mathies. Mathies went for 13 points on February 18th in College Station, and 23 in Lexington on January 10th. Maybe the third time will be the charm for A&M against the Wildcats. We'll find out in tomorrow's SEC Championship game.