Danielle Adams scored 23 points and had 14 rebounds to lead Texas A&M a 79-38 blowout win over Georgia in the NCAA Dallas Regional semi-final Sunday. The 41-point margin was the third largest in NCAA Tournament history.The Aggies hit 10 three-pointers in the game. The Ags will play for a trip to the Final Four Tuesday night against Baylor. Baylor beat Green Bay Sunday in the other semi-final. It will be the fourth meeting between the Aggies and Bears this year.
Danielle Adams had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Texas A&M built a 31-point halftime lead on the way to a 79-38 win over Georgia on Sunday and a spot in the NCAA regional final.
The Aggies are hoping for a fourth meeting with top-seeded Baylor, which plays Wisconsin-Green Bay in the other Dallas Regional semifinal.
Texas A&M (30-5) led 13-0 and was up 27-2 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Aggies raced to the lead thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers and stifling defense that limited the Lady Bulldogs to a 1-for-14 start from the field.
The win gives Texas A&M its first 30-win season and puts the Aggies in the regional final for the second time and first since 2008.
Jasmine James scored 10 points to lead Georgia (23-11).
The Aggies have held each of their first three tournament opponents to under 50 points and their average margin of victory in those games has been more than 34 points.
Tyra White added 14 points for A&M and Sydney Colson chipped in 11.
Georgia coach Andy Landers, who was in the regional semifinals for the 19th time, called a pair of timeouts in the first 10 minutes to try and get his team on track, but it didn’t help. Porsha Phillips missed an uncontested layup on Georgia’s first possession, setting the tone for a tough first half.
Texas A&M hit more 3-pointers (8) than Georgia did field goals (6) in the opening half. The Aggies got 3s from five different players before halftime, including three from Colson. The Aggies were shooting better than 57 percent from 3-point range by the break, while Georgia shot under 21 percent overall in the first 20 minutes.
The Aggies last 3 of the first half came when Adrienne Pratcher hit one just before the shot clock expired to stretch the lead to 46-15 with just under 3 minutes left, and Texas A&M was up 48-17 at the break.
Texas A&M, which beat McNeese State and Rutgers to reach the round of 16, has lost to Baylor three times this season. The Aggies are looking for a win in the regional final for their first trip to the Final Four. The Lady Bulldogs are headed home after reaching the regional final last season before losing 73-36 to Stanford.
Georgia looked as though it may have put its cold-shooting first half behind when Khaalidah Miller hit a 3-pointer early in the second half. Problem was, the Aggies hadn’t cooled off and they answered with back-to-back 3s by Sydney Carter and Adams to make the lead 54-20. Those were the last 3s for A&M, which finished with 10.
Georgia’s shooting improved a bit in the second half but the Lady Bulldogs still managed to shoot only 25 percent for the game.
The Aggies made 13 of 17 free throws and Adams missed her first free throw of the tournament with about 11 minutes left after hitting her first 20 attempts this postseason.
Texas A&M used its reserves heavily after the first 10 minutes, often having three on the floor at a time. But regardless of who was on the court, the Aggies kept scoring. The Aggies were up by 34 points with 14 1/2 minutes remaining before using a 10-4 run, fueled by four points by Pratcher, to push the lead to 72-32 with 8 minutes left.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
• For the 25th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. The Aggies are 20-5 with this starting lineup.
• With 30 wins, the Aggies set a new school record for most wins in a single season and gave Texas A&M women’s basketball its first 30-win season all-time.
• Texas A&M will meet the winner of the other Dallas Region semifinal (No. 1 seed Baylor vs. No. 5 seed Green Bay) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
• The Aggies improve to 12-7 all-time in NCAA postseason play in their eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. A&M improves to 2-2 all-time in Sweet 16 games.
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is now 10-5 at A&M and 24-16 in his career in NCAA Tournament games.
• After their first meeting, Texas A&M improves to 1-0 in the all-time series with Georgia.
• The Aggies’ 41-point margin of victory was the biggest in school history for an NCAA Tournament game.
• A&M has won its three tournament games by 40 points (McNeese State), 22 points (Rutgers) and 41 points (Georgia). A&M’s defense, orchestrated by assistant coach Vic Schaefer, is the only team in the NCAA field to hold all three of its opponents to less than 50 points.
• The Aggies held Georgia to a first-half season low 20 points and to its second-lowest total in an NCAA Tournament game.
• A&M held the Lady Bulldogs to 15-of-60 from the floor with a .250 shooting percentage, their lowest total of the season. That was also the second-worst shooting percentage in NCAA regional history.
• A&M drained a first-half season-high eight 3-pointers en route to a matching its season-high with 10 3-pointers. Ten 3-point field goals in the most in an NCAA Tournament game for the Aggies.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Danielle Adams tallied her 15th double-double this season and the 18th of her career on Sunday. Her 14 rebounds were a career-high and matched the most in an NCAA Tournament game for an Aggie. She has now scored in double figures in 43 of her last 44 games and posted her 21st 20-point performance this season.
• Adams also now has 795 points this season, putting her just ahead of Baylor’s Brittney Griner (792) as they chase the Big 12 single-season scoring record, currently held by Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley (909 points in 2010).
• Tyra White’s 14 points and Sydney Carter’s six assts were both new NCAA personal highs. Adrienne Pratcher matched her career high in points (nine)