Nina's Sports Bad Boys Blog World: Texas A&M shocks No. 1 seed Stanford for women's title berth

Monday, April 4, 2011

Texas A&M shocks No. 1 seed Stanford for women's title berth

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) � Texas A&M's defense was good enough to upset two No. 1 seeds.

By Robert Scheer

Tyra White goes up for two of her 18 points during Texas A&M's NCAA tournament semifinal victory against Stanford in Indianapolis. White made two layups in the game's final minute to help the Aggies pull off the upset.

By Robert Scheer

Tyra White goes up for two of her 18 points during Texas A&M's NCAA tournament semifinal victory against Stanford in Indianapolis. White made two layups in the game's final minute to help the Aggies pull off the upset.

The Aggies will find out Tuesday if it is good enough to win a national championship.

Sydney Colson drove the length of the floor and found cutting Tyra White for a layup with 3.3 seconds left to give the Aggies a thrilling 63-62 victory against Stanford. The teams traded leads five times in the final minute, capping A&M's remarkable rally from a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes.

And they're not finished yet.

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FINAL FOUR: Notre Dame stuns UConn

"It's time to make history," Colson said.

The Aggies (32-5) already have done that by punching a ticket to their first title game. But beat home-state favorite Notre Dame on Tuesday, and Texas A&M will have far more to celebrate.

Sunday's comeback will not be soon forgotten.

When Stanford took a 54-44 lead with 6:01 to play, most people at Conseco Fieldhouse assumed the Cardinal were heading to a third title game in four years.

But the Aggies changed the game with their oppressive defense.

Stanford (33-3) managed only two more baskets the rest of the night, and A&M's aggressive offensive moves got them back into the game.

Then came the frantic final minute.

Colson, who woozily went to the bench after a hard screen earlier in the half, gave Texas A&M a 59-58 lead by making two free throws with 53 seconds left.

Eighteen seconds later, Danielle Adams was called for a foul on Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike. The upset Adams got up and started running toward the Aggies bench, with one of the referees telling her to calm down. Ogwumike made both shots to give Stanford a 60-59 lead.

"It was hectic, you know," Aggies guard Sydney Carter said. "Everybody was saying 30 seconds for the rest of y'all's lives."

Turns out 30 seconds was still an eternity for these teams.

A&M came back with White's layup with 19 seconds to go, only to see Ogwumike answer with a tough layup with nine seconds left that gave Stanford a 62-61 lead.

The Aggies, without a timeout, immediately got the ball to Colson, who raced up the floor and dished to White for the winner.

White finished with 18 points, and slow-starting Adams had 16 points to lead the Aggies.

The Cardinal were led by Ogwumike's 31 points. Jeanette Pohlen added 11, but Stanford went home empty-handed from the Final Four for a fourth consecutive year.

"It's hard," senior Kayla Pedersen said. "I mean, it's an awful feeling. The hardest part isn't losing the game, it's leaving these players."

A&M dictated the tempo all night.

The Aggies held Stanford's potent offense 18 points under its average and forced 22 turnovers. Even being the first tourney team to top 50 points against Texas A&M in a game wasn't enough.

"They are extremely athletic. They play extremely hard," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "They get the loose balls. I thought we played very well to get the lead. We had to do some things we didn't have to do all season long against anyone else. It came down to one play. They had two three-point plays when we were up 10."

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