KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Midway through the season, Texas A&M went into a funk, a string of four losses in five games sending the Aggies spiraling down the standings.
Look at them now.
Finishing off a run of three hard-fought wins against Top 20 opponents, the Aggies are Big 12 women's tournament champions again, headed toward a likely No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Tyra White carried Texas A&M in the first half and Danielle Adams scored 17 of her 19 points in the second, helping the 11th-ranked Aggies hold off No. 12 Oklahoma 74-67 on Sunday for their second Big 12 tournament title in three years.
"We had a lot of tests during that point in the season and I think it prepared us for this," said Texas A&M guard Sydney Colson, who had seven assists and five turnovers.
After losing to Baylor in last year's title game, the Aggies were ready.
Texas A&M knocked off No. 20 Texas in the quarterfinals, gave No. 3 Nebraska its first loss of the season in the semis and closed out the grueling three-day stretch with a second win over Oklahoma in three tries this season.
White had all of her 16 points in the first half and Texas A&M (25-7) relied on Adams in the second to answer every Oklahoma charge. Adaora Elonu added 10 points and Tanisha Smith had two key rebounds and hit three free throws in the final 24 seconds for Texas A&M in its third straight conference title game.
Amanda Thompson had a huge game for the Sooners, finishing with 20 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Danielle Robinson was her usual disruptive self, slashing into the lane for 18 points, five assists and three steals.
Oklahoma (23-10) —destined for a likely No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NCAAs — just missed too many shots at the rim in the second half after shooting well in the first and had trouble keeping up with Texas A&M's multitude of scoring options.
TEXAS A&M (25-7): Buchanan 1-1 0-0 2, Carter 3-7 0-0 8, White 6-10 1-2 16, Elonu 3-16 4-4 10, Smith 2-7 3-4 8, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 8-14 2-4 19, Assarian 1-1 2-4 4, Colson 3-4 0-0 7. Totals 27-60 12-18 74.
OKLAHOMA (23-10): Stevenson 3-9 0-0 8, Robinson 8-19 2-2 18, Thompson 8-27 2-2 20, Olajuwon 1-5 1-3 3, Hartman 0-1 4-4 4, Roethlisberger 0-0 0-0 0, McFarland 5-6 4-6 14. Totals 25-67 13-17 67.
Halftime—Texas A&M 40-34. 3-Point Goals—Texas A&M 8-14 (White 3-4, Carter 2-2, Adams 1-2, Smith 1-2, Colson 1-2, Elonu 0-2), Oklahoma 4-11 (Thompson 2-4, Stevenson 2-7). Fouled Out—None. Rebo unds—Texas A&M 37 (Adams, Smith 7), Oklahoma 46 (Thompson 19). Assists—Texas A&M 14 (Colson 7), Oklahoma 13 (Robinson 5). Total Fouls—Texas A&M 15, Oklahoma 17. A—3,120.
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