Texas A&M 63, Penn 61
LOS ANGELES -- Khaalia Hillsman scored 27 points and Texas A&M overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Pennsylvania 63-61 on Saturday for the biggest comeback in NCAA Women's Tournament history.
Hillsman scored the go-ahead basket with 19.1 seconds left as the No. 5 seed Aggies finished the game on a 25-1 run to beat the No. 12 seed Quakers, who had won 13 of their past 14 games before Saturday.
The rally surpassed the previous record for largest comeback at 16 points, which happened twice in the tournament according to the NCAA.
The Quakers (22-8), sparked by Sydney Stipanovich's 20 points and some horrendous shooting by the Aggies, dominated the game through three quarters.
But after going down by 21, the Aggies (22-11) went to full-court pressure. The Quakers turned the ball over 12 times and then went cold from the field, not converting a basket for the final 8:58 of the game. The Quakers missed their final 10 shots.
The Aggies also went cold from the field until the final minutes. Danni Williams hit a deep three-pointer with 36.2 seconds left to set up Hillsman for the go-ahead basket. Hillsman added nine rebounds.
Both Notre Dame and Michigan State rallied from 16 down in the Final Four to hold the previous mark. The Irish did it in 2001 against UConn and the Spartans rallied against Tennessee in 2005.
The Aggies, who will meet No. 4 seed UCLA on Monday, scored 20 points from the free-throw line (20 of 26), including 13 points from the line in the fourth quarter.
Sports on 03/19/2017