No. 8 Texas A&M cruises past Texas 77-50

Texas A&M put the pressure on and Texas couldn't hold on to the ball.

Danielle Adams scored 23 points, and Sydney Colson and Tyra White each added 14 as No. 8 Texas A&M cruised past turnover-prone Texas 77-50 on Wednesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Texas committed 31 turnovers, one shy of the tournament record, and was held to its lowest points total of the season.

''That was the best defensive game we've played in a long time,'' Aggies coach Gary Blair said.

The Aggies (27-4) defeated Texas (19-13) for the third time this season and have an 11-game win streak over the Longhorns overall.

''I think we just let them get in our heads tonight,'' Texas guard Yvonne Anderson said. ''We didn't execute the way we wanted.''

The Aggies seem to have been re-energized following a loss at Kansas State on March 2. Texas A&M followed with an 84-49 win over Nebraska on Senior Night before blowing out the Longhorns.

''It had been coming for a while,'' Colson said of the Kansas State loss. ''We weren't coming out with the intensity we had shown earlier in the season. It woke us up in a sense. It helped us get our minds on what matters. We need to come out and play hard every game.''

Texas coach Gail Goestenkors was at a loss to explain how her team could commit 31 turnovers, resulting in 37 Texas A&M points. The Aggies had an 18-0 edge in fast-break points.

''I don't know when I've ever had a team with 31 turnovers,'' Goestenkors said. ''Their defensive pressure is the best I've seen all year.''

Chelsea Bass came off the bench to lead Texas with 11 points. The Aggies shut down Chassidy Fussell (1 of 9) and Kathleen Nash (3 of 10).

''That is the key,'' Blair said. ''Fussell's a very, very good player.''

Texas A&M's stifling perimeter pressure proved more than Texas, which beat Missouri in the previous round, could handle in a first half dominated by the Aggies. Texas A&M scored 23 points off 17 turnovers over the first 20 minutes and never let the Longhorns guards get comfortable.

The Aggies had 11 steals in the first half, with Sydney Carter and Colson getting three apiece. With the transition points coming in abundance, Texas A&M shot 53.3 percent in the first half and sprinted to a 41-24 lead.

Adams and White, both from Kansas City, had typically strong efforts in their homecoming. Colson also helped set the tone early with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half.

After watching top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Baylor look extremely sharp earlier in the day, the Aggies also provided a glimpse of why they came into the tournament with a national ranking.

The Aggies drew six charges, which greatly pleased Blair.

''That's Aggies basketball,'' Blair said.

The Longhorns must now wait to see if they will be invited to the NCAA tournament with an at-large berth. Blair believes the Longhorns deserve to be in the NCAA field.

''Do you think Texas does not deserve to get in over Syracuse or St. John's or some of these other people?'' Blair said. ''Oh, crazy. That's a very good team.''