Texas A&M rallies past Stanford
INDIANAPOLIS -- Texas A&M's defense was good enough to take down two No. 1 seeds. The Aggies will find out Tuesday night if it's good enough to win a national title.
Less than six seconds after Nnemkadi Ogwumike hit an acrobatic layup to put Stanford ahead by a point Sunday night, Sydney Colson drove the length of the floor and found Tyra White for a layup with 3.3 seconds left to give Texas A&M a 63-62 win -- and its first trip to the title game. Capping a thrilling finish that included five lead changes in the final minute, Sydney Carter stole Stanford's final pass and the Aggies leaped for joy, having erased a late 10-point deficit.
"It shows our competitiveness, our toughness. We love each other like sisters," White said. "We weren't just happy to be here, we wanted to win."
Beat Notre Dame Tuesdaynight, and Texas A&M (32-5) will leave Indianapolis with a national championship.
White scored 18 points and All-American Danielle Adams had 16 to help the Aggies end Stanford's winning streak at 27 games. Texas A&M had upset Baylor to reach the Final Four.
Ogwumike scored 31 points and Jeanette Pohlen 11 for Stanford (33-3), but the Cardinal went home empty-handed from the Final Four for a fourth consecutive year. None of those previous games was as exciting as this one, though.
A&M trailed 54-44 with 6:01 left, but Adams started an 8-0 run with two free throws and Colson -- who woozily went to the bench after a hard screen earlier in the half -- finally gave Texas A&M a 59-58 lead by making two free throws with 53 seconds left.
Eighteen seconds later, Adams was called for a foul on Ogwumike. The upset Adams got up and ran toward the Aggies' bench, with one of the referees telling her to calm down. Ogwumike made both shots to give Stanford a 60-59 lead.
A&M came back with White's layup with 19 seconds to go, only to have Ogwumike answer with nine seconds left to give Stanford a 62-61 lead.
The Aggies, without a timeout, immediately got the ball to Colson, who raced up the floor and dished to the cutting White for the winner.
"It's time to make history," Colson said. "Forget that you're tired and just push through it, and I think it's exactly what we did."
