No. 19 Texas A&,M 72, No. 25 Colorado 68
1/16/2008 10:34 PM
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -Danielle Gant scored 24 points and Takia Starks added 18 to lead No. 19 Texas A&M to a 72-68 victory over No. 25 Colorado on Wednesday night.
Jackie McFarland had 24 points to lead the Buffaloes, who lost their second straight game.
Colorado (12-4, 1-2) led for most of the game before Morenike Atunrase's only basket of the night gave Texas A&M the lead for good, 66-64, with 1:35 left. A'Quonesia Franklin hit six free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win for the Aggies (13-4, 1-2), who avoided their first 0-3 conference start since the 2003-04 season.
Starks hit a 3-pointer with 4:22 left to give Texas A&M a 58-57 advantage, their first lead since hitting the first basket of the game. Starks extended the lead to three with another basket, but Colorado took the lead back on two free throws each from McFarland and Brittany Spears.
Colorado led 50-41 midway through the second half when the Aggies rallied. Starks hit two buckets, Sydney Colson had a steal and a layup and Gant had four points to pull the Aggies within 55-54 with 6:16 left.
Earlier in the half, Texas A&M had cut Colorado's lead to 36-34 with 16:51 left, and the Buffaloes responded. Sophomore Bianca Smith hit two 3-pointers and McFarland and Aija Putnina hit two free throws each to stretch the advantage to 46-37 with 14:43 left.
The Aggies stayed within striking distance in the first half despite poor shooting and a 15-2 disadvantage in free-throw attempts. Texas A&M, which came into the game shooting 40 percent from the field, shot just 33 percent in the first 20 minutes, and leading scorer Takia Starks was 2-for-9 from the field.
The Buffaloes weren't much better from the field, hitting just 37.9 percent of their shots and were 1-for-13 from behind the 3-point line. They held a 32-28 lead at the break thanks to an advantage from the line. Colorado was in the bonus with 13:32 left in the half and outscored the Aggies 9-1 from the stripe.
Colorado held a 36-18 advantage in free-throw attempts for the game.
McFarland picked up two quick fouls and had to sit for three minutes. She returned to lead all scorers with nine points in the first half.
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