Texas A&M tops Duke in Sweet 16

OKLAHOMA CITY — Texas A&M doesn’t feature any former AAU stars or highly-regarded recruits like the other schools at the Ford Center, coach Gary Blair noted following Sunday’s regional semifinal.

The Aggies do have the program’s first Elite Eight appearance in school history.

Second-seeded Texas A&M, with a roster almost exclusively filled with players from Texas, pulled away in the second half despite the absence of Danielle Gant and beat third-seeded Duke 77-63.

The Aggies (29-7), playing in just their fifth NCAA tournament, will meet Tennessee the winner of Sunday night’s late game between Tennessee and Notre Dame on Tuesday at 7. They’ve won 12 straight games.

“I’ve just got a bunch of warriors out there, a bunch of warriors,” said Blair, who coached at Arkansas from 1993-2003. “Our program is built on Texas kids.”

Gant, the team’s second-leading scorer, missed the entire second half due to dehydration and received four IVs. Blair said the junior from Oklahoma City will be available for Tuesday’s regional final.

“She better be available, or I’m not going to be available,” he cracked. “She was over there smiling and encouraging teammates. We’ll take her to the hospital just to be safe.”

Senior A’Quonesia Franklin filled the scoring void, drilling three 3-pointers in a four-minute span in the second half that helped push the Aggies’ lead from 37-31 to 53-39 with 10:17 left. Duke (25-10) could not cut the lead closer than nine points.

Patrice Reado also helped the Aggies extend their four-point halftime lead with 17 points and eight rebounds — all in the second half.

“Coach chewed me out at halftime,” Reado said. “I had to be a beast.”

Duke turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and made just 3-of-15 3-pointers. Chante Black scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Abby Waner added 15 points.

“We had a serious loss of composure at critical junctures,” said first-year Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, whose husband, John, is from Chattanooga. “Just too many turnovers.”

Aside from advancing to the Elite Eight, the win enabled Blair to give his wife a birthday present Tuesday in Oklahoma City. She still teaches at the University of Arkansas but is in town for the regional.

“There was a whole lot of pressure on me,” Blair said. “She said, ‘You’re good enough to be there on my birthday.’”

She was right.