SEC WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Auburn's best shot off mark

A five-minute stretch early in the second half was the difference for Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon at the SEC Women's Tournament in Verizon Arena.

Texas A&M used a 16-4 run to pull away from Auburn in a 57-47 second-round victory that moved the Aggies into the quarterfinals, where they will face LSU at approximately 2:30 p.m. today.

At a glance

All times Central At Verizon Arena, North Little Rock

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (12) Florida 71, (13) Auburn 49 (11) Vanderbilt 66, (14) Alabama 56

THURSDAY’S GAMES (9) Arkansas 72, (8) Mississippi 61 (5) Texas A&M 57, Auburn 47 (10) Georgia 75, (7) Missouri 74 Game 6 (6) Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt, (n)

TODAY’S GAMES Game 7 (1) South Carolina vs. Arkansas, noon Game 8 (4) LSU vs. Texas A&M Game 9 (2) Tennessee vs. Georgia, 6 p.m. Game 10 (3) Mississippi St. vs. Game 6 winner

SATURDAY’S GAMES Game 11 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m. Game 12 Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner*

SUNDAY’S GAME Championship Game 13 Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 2:30 p.m.

*Second game in a session begins 25 minutes following the conclusion of the previous game.

Courtney Williams led Texas A&M with 14 points and was one of four Aggies players with at least 10. Achiri Ade, Chelsea Jennings and Courtney Walker all had 10 points as Texas A&M shot 42.1 percent (24 of 57).

Texas A&M held Auburn to 1-of-13 shooting from behind the three-point line and 36.7 percent (22 of 60) overall.

"Our half-court defense was outstanding the whole night, and the one [three-pointer] they made was completely wide open," Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair said. "We'll take that. That's why we lead the nation in three-point percentage defense. We're proud of that."

The fifth-seeded Aggies (23-8), who are No. 18 in this week's Associated Press poll, will play LSU for the second time in five days. LSU beat Texas A&M 80-63 on Sunday to earn the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

Auburn, which had used an 8-0 run to pull within 26-22 going into halftime, cut Texas A&M's lead to 32-29 with 16:52 left on Brandy Montgomery's layup. But Texas A&M scored the next 10 points and Walker's jumper made it 42-29 with 14:19 left, forcing Auburn Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy to call a timeout.

The Tigers' scoring drought lasted 5:06 and ended with Katie Frerking's layup at the 11:46 mark that pulled Auburn to within 42-31.

Williams scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half.

"She took the game over in the second half," Flournoy said. "She's a very good player. She stepped it up in the second half."

The Aggies are without Jordan Jones, the SEC's defensive player of the year, for the remainder of the season after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus against Missouri on Feb. 26.

Walker said Jones' leadership is missed, but sophomore Curtyce Knox (seven points) is learning to fill that void.

"If you were in football and lost your quarterback, you'd have to run the Wildcat," Blair said. "We have a highly capable point guard. ... She would start for a lot of teams in the country, but she still wanted to be an Aggie."

Auburn (13-18) lost its first 13 conference games before winning its final three to wrap up the regular season. The Tigers beat Florida 71-49 in a first-round game Wednesday, and for the first 25 minutes Thursday they hung with Texas A&M, but the Aggies were simply too strong.

"It was a tough game for our ladies, but I think we continued to fight through," Flournoy said. "For us to have a 10-point basketball game and our ladies continued to fight, it says a lot about our team."

Tra'Cee Tanner led Auburn with 14 points. Frerking and Montgomery each had 13 points.

Sports on 03/06/2015

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