No. 6 Texas A&,M 81, Kansas 58
Danielle Adams sure gave No. 1 Baylor plenty to think about.
Adams scored 26 of her school-record 40 points in the first half and No. 6 Texas A&M coasted to an 81-58 win over Kansas on Saturday night.
The Aggies (21-2, 9-1) have won three straight heading into Monday's Big 12 showdown at the top-ranked Bears. Texas A&M lost 63-60 in the first meeting this season.
''After the game was over I immediately start thinking about the next game,'' she said. ''Baylor's a big game and everybody is looking for us to do something great - get a win and knock off the No. 1 team.''
Adams led the charge in a dominant first half, helping the Aggies build a 19-point halftime lead. The Jayhawks never threatened after the break despite Adams slowing down a bit. She made 10 of her first 14 shots, then went 6 for 12 from the field in the second half.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson thinks Adams may have had some inside information about her entering this game.
''I think Danielle knows I'm on the All-American committee,'' Henrickson said with a laugh. ''I feel certain she might know that I'm going to sit at that table in Indianapolis and represent. She made my speech pretty easy. I don't have to watch any film on that. D-Train and I are good.''
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair called Adams special and said the only thing she and fellow senior Sydney Colson need to show him is they can produce in an important game like Monday's matchup.
''I need for her and Colson to do it in the major game,'' he said. ''This is their last go round. This is their senior year. They've got to step up.''
Carolyn Davis had 16 points, but Kansas (16-9, 3-8) was hurt by a season-high 31 turnovers.
Adams went to the bench to a standing ovation after breaking Lori Foreman's school record on a layup with 2 1/2 minutes to play that made it 77-55. Foreman scored 39 in a game in 1980.
Adams' previous career best was 34 points in a win over Texas this season.
''It is a big honor for me,'' Adams said of setting the record. ''From the first time I came to A&M when I was out of shape, my teammates were always behind me and just told me to keep pushing it.''
Colson finished with 16 points and 10 assists in the Aggies' eighth straight win over Kansas. Adaora Elonu had eight points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
Blair took Colson aside at halftime and told her Adams was within striking distance of the record. He urged her not to share that information with her teammates though.
''I didn't understand why I couldn't tell anyone,'' she said. ''I was like: 'We need to make this happen. This needs to get done.'''
The Jayhawks didn't have an answer for Adams, the Big 12's leading scorer. The 6-foot-1 senior scored on layups, jump shots and even stepped back to swish a 3-pointer with a defender in her face. And that was all in the first half. She made all of her seven free throws in her 32nd straight double-digit scoring game.
Adams also had six rebounds and three steals.
''She's a tough matchup,'' Davis said. ''She's a big body. She's bigger than all of our post players.''
Davis, Kansas' leading scorer, played just six minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls.
''That bothered us a lot,'' Henrickson said. ''That hurt us. We didn't have her guard Danielle Adams to start because we were trying to avoid foul trouble, but it didn't work.''
The Aggies led by three midway through the first half before going on a 16-4 spurt to stretch the lead to 34-19 four minutes before halftime. Colson scored the first seven points in the run and Adams also had seven in the surge.
Texas A&M led 48-29 at intermission after scoring 24 points off 19 Kansas turnovers.
The Aggies wore pink shoes and uniforms with pink accents as part of a breast cancer awareness day to raise money for the Kay Yow Foundation.