COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The trap question was asked of Texas A&M's Sydney Colson and Takia Starks. After the Aggies had defeated rival Texas for the fourth consecutive game, does A&M own the Longhorns.

Colson hesitated - much like a sweet move she made down the lane in transition for a second half basket.

Starks, took her time as she did in the game, scoring 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half.

"Well, we own the trophy," she said.

Deftly and diplomatically played. After No. 14 Texas A&M bested No. 12 Texas, 76-65, Saturday afternoon in Reed Arena, the Aggies were able to hoist the trophy presented in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. To the victors belong the spoils ... and no reason to spoil a victory with trash talk.

Texas A&M, which plays host to No. 2 Oklahoma in a Big Monday ESPN2 telecast, started a crucial five-game stretch with a focused defensive effort that forced the Longhorns (19-7, 7-5) into a season-high 29 turnovers.

"It was a huge game," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. "I wouldn't have wanted to play Oklahoma after losing to Texas. This is a game we had to win."

In the big picture, Texas A&M boosted its NCAA Tournament profile by completing its regular-season sweep of Texas. The Aggies and the Longhorns were two of four teams entering Saturday tied for third in the Big 12 with 7-4 league records. The top four teams in the final regular-season standings get a first-round bye in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

"There are four teams fighting their hearts out," Blair said. "We've got to finish 4-1 in our last five to be in the top four. There's a lot of ball to be played."

Texas faces three of the four teams ahead of the Longhorns in the standings.

"We knew that the five games we had left were all going to be tough for us," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. "There are no easy games remaining."

The Longhorns had a lost week. After winning five consecutive games, Texas lost at home to Oklahoma State and then followed that up with a turnover fest Saturday.

Ironically, Texas A&M isn't using its full-court press as much this season. Blair said he pressed Texas less than he ever has. The pressure and defense came in the half court. A third of the Aggies' offense (25 points) came as a result of UT errors.

Texas, though, had control during the first eight minutes. The Longhorns' 2-3 zone defense limited the Aggies to 4-of-19 shooting. A&M was flustered, turning down open shots and then forcing contested attempts.

The Longhorns couldn't build more than a 17-10 lead because they turned it over on seven of their first 22 possessions.

"Our offense was really horrible," said Starks said, who missed all six of her shots in the first 20 minutes. "It was poor execution and at times we were in a frenzy. We pulled it together when we got back to our defensive mindset."

Goestenkors lamented that her team was unable to do more with an opportunity to build a lead bigger than seven points. At halftime, Texas had 15 turnovers - more than it had committed in any of its last four games.

"I knew we were in trouble," Goestenkors said. "We played pretty well on defense and we were still down (31-27). You take away 15 opportunities to score, that's gonna be tough."

Texas A&M's Danielle Gant got the Aggies' offense rolling during the last seven minutes of the first half. The Aggies made seven of their last 10 shots, with Gant making four of those. She also had an assist for another basket and created three free throws for A&M with her hustle chasing rebounds.

"She bails us out at times," Starks said of Gant, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. "She gave us huge minutes. Late in the first half, she was the offensive key. She's a finisher."

Only Saturday, she didn't finish. With Texas A&M clinging to a 38-36 lead, Gant and Texas' Ashleigh Fontenette collided head to head as they chased a loose ball near mid-court. Gant remained on the bench with concussion-like symptoms. Her status for Monday's Oklahoma is unknown.

The Aggies, though, turned into a relay team. Starks scored eight of 12 points as A&M started to stretch the lead. The other four points came from freshman Adaora Elonu, who came off the bench to score 10 points (equaling her best scoring effort in Big 12 play).

Colson then picked up the baton and scored six of the next eight points as Texas A&M pushed its lead to double figures at 53-41 with 8:57 remaining.

From its 17-10 lead to its dozen-point deficit, Texas had 36 possessions that produced 24 points, 17 turnovers and six-of-21 shots.

"Yep, sounds about right," Goestenkors said. "We had some senseless turnovers. Put that together with Texas A&M getting out in the passing lanes, it was a bad combination for us."

Again, like Starks' ownership statement, that was an on-target comment.