FINAL:

No. 4 Texas A&M 74

No. 1 Oklahoma 62

OKLAHOMA CITY — This game was billed as the matchup between Big 12 Player of the Year in Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Aggie Danielle Gant. Looking at the final stat lines, the game was exactly that, but for the first 20 minutes, it was anything but.

Paris and Gant’s foul trouble in the first half kept both the stars off the floor and benches took over, and the Aggies bench was the one that truly delivered.

Texas A&M (25-6) pulled out the 12 point victory over the top-seeded Sooners (28-4), with four players scoring in double figures, led by Gant’s 22 points and guard Sydney Colson’s three 3-pointers.

In this, the third installment of the A&M vs. OU series this season, the teams did not disappoint, and a raucous crowd was on their feet for momentum swings and scoring runs during all parts of the game.

Oklahoma was hurt by their lack of shooting touch, and finished the game 2-for-14 from three point range against a feisty Aggie defense. Shooting was an issue, but the echoing sentiment was the difference in effort over 40 minutes of basketball.

“We just weren’t as tough as we usually are,” Paris said. “Normally we’ve had games where we didn’t shoot very well, and we still found a way to fight through it, but that’s the number one thing we didn’t have tonight.”

Texas A&M came up with every loose ball, and hit the floor when necessary, and Aggie coach Gary Blair felt the team was due a bit of recognition.

“I wish that coaches would say, ‘that’s a damn good team’ sometimes, instead of just ‘boy they played hard, they scrap, they get loose balls’, but ‘damn good’s’ a pretty good adjective too,” Blair said.

Texas A&M brought early energy, and Courtney Paris picked up three fouls in the first 10 minutes of the first half to send Texas A&M to halftime with an 8 point lead.

The early minutes of the game were used to feel each other out, and test the space, as Texas A&M saw second leading scorer and top rebounder Gant guarded by Oklahoma’s rock  Paris out near the arc. A&M started the game with a defensive mindset, forcing OU to 6-for-22 shooting in the first half.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Danielle Gant, Texas A&M (22 points on 7-8 FG, 8-9 FT, four rebounds and three assists)

Gant played her second straight huge game, coming up with big play after big play to put the top-ranked Sooners away. Gant hit two baskets in a three minute period during the second half while getting fouled and made the free throw each time.

QUOTABLE:

“Defense is gonna win you championships, that’s our bread and butter, and we don’t apologize for it. A lot of people say our style is ugly, ‘they hold, they foul, they does this and that’. There are a lot of ways to win ballgames. And defense is the best thing we do.” -Texas A&M coach Gary Blair

“It was frustrating because I didn’t think we played as hard as we needed to play, we didn’t play with urgency that deserved an opportunity to play in the championship game. I really didn’t. That was the frustrating part.” -Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale

WHAT IT MEANS:

No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Baylor/No. 3 Iowa State at 12:30 p.m. Sunday

The Aggies looked like a nationally heralded top-ten team, and Danielle Gant is living up to her billing as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Gant will present match-up problems to ISU or Baylor, and if A&M leading scorer Takia Starks can shoot better than the 1-for-11 she shot against Oklahoma, Texas A&M will be a handful for either team.