Women's Basketball Big12Sports.com

Aggies Survive Late Scare By Arkansas

 
NCAA Second Round - Raleigh Region
  1 2 FINAL
Arkansas 20 39 59
Texas A&M 27 34 61
 
 Quick Stats Arkansas Texas A&M
Points 59 61
FG Made - Attempted 20-56 21-49
FG Percentage .357 .429
3PT Made - Attempted 3-14 2-9
3PT Percentage .214 .222
FT Made - Attempted 16-19 17-20
FT Percentage .842 .850
Rebounds 33 35
Turnovers 13 17
 
 Statistical Leaders
Arkansas Pts Rbs Asst St Blk
 Quistelle Williams 14 8 0 2 0
 Dominique Robinson 7 5 2 1 1
Texas A&M Pts Rbs Asst St Blk
 Adaora Elonu 23 7 1 1 2
 Skylar Collins 8 3 0 1 0
 
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By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent

Two down, four to go.

That's the formula if Texas A&M is to successfully defend its national championship. The third-seeded Aggies, playing on their home court, edged No. 6 Arkansas 61-59 Monday night in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Texas A&M (24-10) advances to the Raleigh Regional semifinal against No. 2 seed Maryland Sunday. The Aggies are in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five years.

Senior guard Sydney Carter, who didn't score from the field, made two free throws with 24 seconds remaining to give the Aggies the lead at 60-59. Arkansas, which trailed by 14 early in the second half, took a 59-58 lead with 1:20 remaining when Lyndsay Harris beat the shot clock with a desperation turnaround 18 footer.

The Razorbacks (24-9) could have extended their lead but missed a layup with 33 seconds remaining.

Arkansas had a chance to take the lead but Quistelle Williams was short on a 10-footer in the lane. Senior Tyra White grabbed the rebound and was fouled; she made one of two attempts with 1.2 seconds remaining. The Aggies made 17 of 20 from the line.

"I knew (the coaches) wanted to get me to the line, they trust me," Carter said of her winning free throws. "Those are like layups for me."

Adaora Elonu led the Aggies with 23 points and was the only A&M player in double figures. White, the team's leading scorer, was limited to just three shots by the Razorbacks, who are ranked 11th nationally in defense. Texas A&M's defense held Arkansas to 35.7 percent shooting.

"This was more pressure than the national championship for me," said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who was at Arkansas before coming to A&M in 2003. "I was in Arkansas for 10 years. I've got a lot of friends, I've got a lot of family and ... I didn't want to let the fans here down. I wanted to reward all those who worked so hard to allow us to host."

Texas A&M had last hosted an NCAA opening round in 1994.