NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 52, ARKANSAS 50
FAYETTEVILLE -- Achiri Ade knew she had to take her time.
In a game where wide-open shots -- even point-blank layups -- were anything but automatic, the Texas A&M senior forward hesitated just enough to zero in and turn a big offensive rebound into a game-winning buzzer-beating layup as No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 52-50 in front of 1,106 fans Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.
Ade's layup, which went through the net just as the final horn was sounding, came after she pulled down her 15th rebound on a missed jumper from Jordan Jones.
"My first thought was to box out," Ade said. "Once I seen her [Jones] go up with the shot, I just wanted to get a body on somebody and take my time with the last shot."
It was a dramatic finish to a game that saw each team struggle with their shooting.
Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0 SEC) shot 33.9 percent (19 of 56) and was 0 of 5 from three-point range. Arkansas (10-4, 0-2) was 16 of 55 from the field (29.1 percent) and hit 4 of 23 three-point attempts.
"Very, very disappointed," said Razorbacks Coach Jimmy Dykes, whose team was coming off a 14-point road loss to Ole Miss on Friday. "We're just as good as Texas A&M. We didn't come here to play the game, we came here to win the game.
"I thought we outplayed them, and I thought our scheme was good. We were dialed in and ready. "
Dykes said Ade and her 15 rebounds was ultimately the difference.
"She got one more rebound than I wanted her to have, and it wasn't because we didn't box off and try," Dykes said.
The Razorbacks led by three at the half and by five in the second half. Two free throws from Jhasmin Bowen gave Arkansas a 44-43 lead with 6:36 remaining and started a back-and-forth stretch -- which got chaotic at times -- to end the game.
A three-pointer from Jessica Jackson gave Arkansas a 47-45 lead with 4:57 left, but the Razorbacks would go more than four minutes without a field goal.
Courtney Walker's jumper with 54.9 seconds left gave the Aggies a 50-48 lead, but Jackson floated a layup with 31.3 seconds remaining to tie it.
Texas A&M got the ball back and called timeout with 24 seconds left to set up the game's final play.
"We were trying to run a play called 'Two Down' where I get the post up, but they guarded it well," said A&M Courtney Williams, who led the Aggies with 18 points. "Jordan did the right thing by getting space and taking the shot. Achiri did a good job of grabbing the rebound with two hands and taking her time and finishing."
Jackson finished with 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting for Arkansas and had 10 rebounds in 38 minutes. She was 2 of 11 from three-point range.
"Jackson is an impact player," Aggies Coach Gary Blair said. "If you don't have an impact player in this league you usually are not going to the NCAA Tournament and Arkansas has one. What they have to do is build around her and Jackson has got to keep doing her thing.
"Sometimes when the three-pointer is not going, drive on us. Everybody else is driving on us all year, and we couldn't stop her when she did drive."
It was a difficult loss for the Razorbacks, who travel to No. 17 Mississippi State on Thursday before hosting No. 8 Tennessee on Sunday.
"We were 4 for 23 from the three-point line and that is just ridiculous," Dykes said. "We probably shot 5-6 too many, but we had good, wide-open looks that just didn't go in. I wish I would have driven the lane on them more. Wish had done that more down the stretch.
"It's one of those games you'll go back and look at every single possession and see what we could have done on this or that. It came down to one possession and there's going to be 30 possessions in this game that one thing here or there and we win the game."
Arkansas hung with the Aggies thanks to a 3-2 zone that disrupted the Aggies' offensive rhythm and allowed Arkansas to force 14 turnovers.
"We fought hard on defense," said Arkansas sophomore guard Kelsey Brooks, who had 15 points, 12 coming in the first half. "It's a disappointing loss, but at the same time they are a really good team and we were with them until the last second of the game. It gives us confidence to see that we are a good team, too. We can progress from this and become an even better team."
Blair, alone, waited on the Aggies sideline to listen to the Arkansas Alma Mater before leaving the floor after the game. It was his second coaching trip back to Fayetteville, where his family still lives and he owns a home, and plans to retire one day. In fact, Blair said the Texas A&M team bus was going to his home, not far from Walton Arena, after the game to enjoy "Arkansas barbecue."
"It's good to be back home," said Blair, often getting emotional talking about his feelings for the Razorbacks. "Give Jimmy's team extra credit. They had a better game plan and better execution than we did."
Sports on 01/05/2015