The season came to a halt for the Texas A&M women’s basketball team Monday night as it became the 38th team to fall to the undefeated Connecticut Huskies, losing 69-54 in the fourth round of the NCAA Division I Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
Seniors Karla Gilbert and Kristen Grant – the two remaining members from the 2011 National Championship team – finished their collegiate careers 12-3 in NCAA tournament play.
The 15-point defeat was UConn’s second closest game of the season. UConn, the No. 1 overall seed, has won its matchups by an average of 28.2 points this season.
A&M jumped out to an 11-4 advantage early in the game. The seven-point lead was the largest deficit UConn has faced this season. The Huskies would go on a 9-0 run to take a 13-11 lead on the strength of junior forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
Mosqueda-Lewis hit 2-of-4 three-pointers in the first half and finished 3-of-9. Her 12 points in the first half were tied with Aggie sophomore guard Courtney Walker for the most at the break.
Playing in her last collegiate game, senior center Karla Gilbert was held scoreless in the first half and ended the game with one point to go along with her five rebounds and two blocked shots. Gilbert’s 68 blocks in the 2013-14 season set a single-season record for A&M.
The Aggies pulled down 40 rebounds as a team – three more than the Huskies – and did not allow UConn to record an offensive rebound until 6:42 remained in the first half.
The second half was full of streaks. Down 34-23 at halftime, the Aggies came out of the locker room and hit their first six shots – including two three-pointers by sophomore point guard Jordan Jones. After going 6-6 to start the half, A&M missed its next eight shots before Jones put in a fast-break layup.
A&M got within three points of the Huskies – trailing 40-37 with just over 15 minutes to go. After a missed a free throw by Jones, UConn rattled off a 10-0 run to push its lead back up to 50-37. The Huskies held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
Jones, Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams, A&M’s trio of sophomore stars, scored 37 of the Aggie’s 54 points.
Jones finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and 2 assists, breaking A&M’s single season assist record in the Aggies second round victory over James Madison, and finished the 2013-14 season with 261 assists.
Williams, who was named second team All-SEC at the end of the regular season, finished with 13 points and six assists.
Walker led the Aggies with 14 points and took 21 (31 percent) of her team’s 68 shots Monday night. Walker also added five rebounds and two assists.
Both Williams and Walker were named to the Lincoln Regional All-Tournament team.
With the victory, the Huskies advance to the Final Four, where with two games remaining they look to become the first 40-0 team in women’s basketball history.