Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair crafted a brutal nonconference schedule for his Aggies to prepare for difficult SEC road games similar to the one they found themselves in on Sunday afternoon against No. 2 South Carolina.
While the No. 15 Aggies (13-5, 3-2) gave it a valiant effort against the undefeated No. 2 Gamecocks (17-0, 5-0), they came up just short, finally succumbing in the last seconds of a 59-58 loss.
Chelsea Jennings, who scored 14 points in the contest, gave the Aggies life with less than five seconds left when she caught a long pass from Taylor Cooper and converted it into a game-tying layup. However, in the chaos that followed, South Carolina’s Khadijah Sessions was fouled with 0.9 seconds.
Sessions missed the first free throw but nailed the second one to seal the victory for the Gamecocks, their 43rd consecutive win at Colonial Life Arena.
The game had 19 lead changes and four ties, while the Aggies were ahead after the first three quarters.
With 2:34 left in the fourth quarter, the Aggies trailed by six and it didn’t look like such a tight finish was in store. But Jordan Jones, who finished with a season-high 17 points, cut the deficit to one when she made 1-of-2 free throws with under ten seconds left in the game.
After Sessions split a pair of free throws, the Aggies got the ball back with 3.4 seconds. Cooper threw an overhand pass the length of the court to Jennings, who deftly corralled it and tied the game with 0.9 seconds.
Rachel Mitchell had a big game for the Aggies, blocking a career-high five shots as she moved into sixth place all-time on A&M’s career blocked shot list.
Courtney Walker made a shot as time expired in the second quarter to give the Aggies a 27-26 halftime lead, and she finished with 16 points and five assists. It marked the 17th time in the Aggies’ 18 games that she has scored in double figures.
The Aggies will return home to Reed Arena on Thursday, January 21, to host the Missouri Tigers. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network Plus.
