ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands—No. 23/18 Texas A&M overcame a nine-point halftime deficit with a big third-quarter run to defeat South Dakota 58-44 on Friday night in the Paradise Jam held at the University of Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.
Texas A&M (6-0) scored 24-straight points in the third quarter, three more than the Aggies had in the entirety of the first half. The Aggies made 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from the stripe during the run.
Friday night marked just the 10th loss in 126 games where the South Dakota (2-4) had led at the half in
Dawn Plitzuweit's tenure.
The Aggies were led by guard Kayla Wells' 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Jordan Nixon joined her in double-digits with 13 points.
Seniors
Liv Korngable and
Hannah Sjerven reached double-digits, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the Coyotes. Sjerven added six boards, two blocks and two assists. Senior
Chloe Lamb added seven points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
The Coyotes and Aggies dueled it out defensively in the first quarter and finished evenly matched at 12-12.
After Texas A&M tied it up at 20 with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Coyotes went on a 10-1 run capped off by a
Maddie Krull floater with 11 seconds left to give the Yotes a 30-21 halftime edge. South Dakota shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field during the frame and Lamb dished out all four of her assists in the second. Defensively, the Coyotes held Texas A&M to just nine points in the second period, tying the Aggies' season low.
Lamb made a turnaround jump shot in the first minute of the third quarter to give the Coyotes' their largest lead of the night at 32-21. From there, Texas A&M made the next 24 points to lead 45-32 after the third period. The Aggies shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the third while holding the Coyotes to 1-of-12.
Lamb tipped away a steal off a defensive trap and converted on the fast break with seven minutes remaining, putting the Coyotes back within 10 points. Texas A&M's Saraha Jones answered on the next possession. Jones scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter, helping hold off a chance at a Coyote comeback. The Aggies outscored the Coyotes by one in the final frame.
South Dakota finished shooting 26.3 percent (15-of-57) from the field, while Texas A&M shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor.
The Coyotes tip off against Pitt at 4:45 p.m. CST (6:45 p.m. locally) on Saturday for the final game of the Paradise Jam.
