Tennessee Lady Vols fall in overtime at Texas A&M, their first loss of the season

Tennessee's undefeated start came to a gut-wrenching end Thursday night.

Texas A&M guard Danni Williams was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt in overtime and hit three free throws with 7.8 seconds left to erase a two-point deficit. The Lady Vols never recovered in the hard-fought SEC women's basketball game and fell 79-76 at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.

Tennessee's Evina Westbrook, who fouled Williams on the 3-point attempt, ended UT's final possession by committing a turnover.

Williams and Khaalia Hillsman scored 22 points apiece to lead No. 16 Texas A&M (14-4, 3-1 SEC).

Mercedes Russell led four double-figure scorers for No. 6 Tennessee (15-1, 3-1) with 21 points. 

"We battled but we made a lot of mistakes that beat ourselves," UT coach Holly Warlick said afterward in an interview on the Lady Vols radio network.

Along with the foul on Williams, Warlick counted two other times that the Lady Vols fouled jump shooters. And she tallied their 16 turnovers and the toll they took. The Aggies' 18-15 edge in points off turnovers mirrored the difference in the game.

"I said the turnovers were going to catch up with us," Warlick said. "We have to do a lot better job of that."

The game featured 10 ties and 17 lead changes. Tennessee trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter and then led by four in the extra session.

Jaime Nared scored 18 points for Tennessee. Rennia Davis and Cheridene Green each scored 12.

Chennedy Carter scored 21 points for the Aggies, who overcame their 36.5 percent field goal shooting by making 21 of 26 free throw attempts.  

Tennessee began without one of its most trustworthy assets — a lead. The Lady Vols came into the game with a 326-175 edge in first-quarter scoring and hadn't trailed after the first 10 minutes since Nov. 20 against Wichita State. But they fell behind by as many as four points against the Aggies and were down 21-20 at quarter's end.

The deficit grew to 32-24 midway through the second quarter, the biggest deficit UT had faced so far this season. Texas A&M was wresting another advantage from Tennessee with its offensive rebounding. All five of Hillsman's basket were second-chance scores.

Under the grim circumstances, the Lady Vols mustered a 12-2 scoring run to end the half with a 36-34 edge. The Aggies missed their final six field goal attempts.

A seven-point scoring run was instrumental to the Aggies taking a 58-55 lead into the final quarter.

Two Lady Vols in Naismith Top 25

Both Nared and Russell were among the 25 players announced Thursday as midseason contenders for the John R. Wooden Award.

Tennessee is one of five teams with more than one contender. The others are Connecticut, Texas, UCLA and Mississippi State.

Up Next

Tennessee's schedule gets more difficult with a trip to defending national champion South Carolina on Sunday. It's the first of two regular-season meetings with the Gamecocks this season.