COLLEGE STATION, Texas --Jordan Reynolds scored a season-high 16 points but the No. 23/25 Lady Vols came up short in the fourth quarter and overtime in a 76-71 loss to No. 12/11 Texas A&Mon Sundayat Reed Arena.
Tennessee (14-9, 5-5 SEC) dominated the third quarter and held a 13-point lead early in the fourth. Texas A&M (16-7, 6-4 SEC) outscored the Lady Vols 36-20 in the fourth-quarter and overtime.
Reynolds scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and also collected seven rebounds and three assists. Mercedes Russell nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Andraya Carter added 11 points, five boards and four assists in the loss.
Texas A&M's Courtney Walker scored a game-high 29 points, going 9-of-26 from the floor and 11-of-11 on free throws. Khaalia Hillsman added 14 points for the Aggies.
The Lady Vols led by as much 53-40 early in the fourth quarter, but the Aggies clawed their way back to within 61-59 with 45 seconds left. Anriel Howard hit mid-range jumper after collecting an offensive rebound with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Tennessee took command of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Texas A&M, 22-10. Carter made a pair of free throws in the opening seconds of the second half to give UT the lead and start a 16-6 run. Reynolds had eight points, three boards and four assists in the third to lead the Lady Vols' surge.
The Aggies led at halftime, 30-29. The first half was as close in all aspects as the score indicated. Neither team shot particularly well from the floor as Texas A&M shot 38.2 percent to UT's 36.7 percent. The Lady Vols had a slight edge in first-half rebounding at 21-20.
Kortney Dunbar led Tennessee in the first half with nine points, all coming in the first quarter and all on 3-pointers. Jaime Nared had seven points and four rebounds before halftime.
Texas A&M led by as much as five points in the second quarter, but Diamond DeShields hit a pair of jumpers in the final two minutes to make it a one-point game at the break.
The first quarter ended tied at 14-14. The Lady Vols struggled early, starting the game 1-of-9 from the floor as Texas A&M built a 10-3 lead after four minutes. Dunbar came off the bench and made three 3-pointers to counter the Aggies' zone defense and spark Tennessee to an 11-4 run.
Series vs. Texas A&M
- The Lady Vols are 6-2 all-time against Texas A&M and 1-1 against the Aggies in College Station.
- Sunday'sgame marked the eighth-straight game that both UT and Texas A&M faced each other as ranked opponents. It was also the first game in which the Aggies were ranked higher than the Lady Vols in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.
Reynolds' Impressive Performance
- Reynolds scored in double-figures for the second time this season and the 13th time in her career.
- She scored her previous season high of 15 points in UT's last overtime game against Mississippi State on Jan. 28.
- Her seven field goals made were a career high.
- Reynolds was a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point range. Her two made 3-pointers were a season high.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Lady Vols are 30-18 all-time in overtime games and 13-9 in overtime games on the road. They move to 0-2 in overtime this season.
- The Lady Vols held Texas A&M's Courtney Williams to only three points on 0-of-7 shooting. Williams entered game averaging 12.3 points per game, ranking 16th in the SEC.
- By holding Texas A&M to 33.8 percent shooting, Tennessee has now held 16 of their 23 opponents under 40 percent shooting.
- Kortney Dunbar provided a major boost for Tennessee in the first quarter, coming off the bench and hitting three 3-pointers. Her nine points in the game were her personal high in SEC play.
- Tennessee scored 23 points off the bench. Dunbar and Diamond DeShields had nine points each.
- Tennessee held Texas A&M without a 3-point field goal as the Aggies went 0-5 from beyond the arc. It is the first time UT has done that this season.
Up Next
- The Lady Vols next face SEC rival Vanderbilt onThursday, Feb. 11, at Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for9 p.m. ETon SEC Network.
- Tennessee is 66-9 all-time against Vanderbilt, including a 58-49 win over the Commodores on Jan. 21 in Knoxville. The Lady Vols have won the last four games between the teams and seven of the last eight.
- UT is 25-7 all-time against Vandy in Nashville.