Meerceds Russell (21) puts up a shot for the Lady Vols as Texas A&M's Khaalia Hillsman defends.Russell finished with a double-double.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair reacts to action on the court.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair discusses a call with an official.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Jaime Nared (31) goes to the hoop for the Lady Vols.
photo by Dennis Norwood
UT's Alexa Middleton (33) drives against the Aggies' Curtyce Knox.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Jaime Nared (31) drives for a layup against the A&M defense.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The Lady Vols' Diamond DeShields (11) shoots for three points.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Lady Vol Mercedes Russell (21) sets to make her move.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick watches the action on the court.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The Tennessee bench does their three-point dance.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Alexa Middleton (33) puts up a three point shot.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Diamond DeShields (11) shoots from the lane.
photo by Dennis Norwood
UT's Jaime Nared (31) chases a loose ball.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Jordan Reynolds (0) pulls up to shoot for Tennessee.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Head Coach Holly Warlick questions a call.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Diamond DeShields (11) drives the baseline for a shot.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Jaime Nared (31) is knocked to the floor by A&M's Ariel howard (5) while attempting to rebound
photo by Dennis Norwood
UT's Diamond DeShields (11) shoots from under the hoop.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Meme Jackson (10) drives the lane.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tennessee's Holly Warlick stares on to the court during a lull in the action.
photo by Dennis Norwood
UT's Jordan Reynolds (0) defends against A&M's Curtyce Knox.
photo by Dennis Norwood
UT's Jaime Nared (31) lays the ball up against the A&M defense,
photo by Dennis Norwood
Texas A&M's Khaalia Hillsman scored the game-winning putback with four seconds left as No. 24/25 Tennessee fell to the Aggies, 61-59 on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Mercedes Russell led the Lady Vols (16-9, 7-5 SEC) with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. Texas A&M (19-6, 9-3 SEC) outscored UT 14-5 in the fourth quarter to maintain third place in the conference standings.
Alexa Middleton scored 14 points and recorded four assists, and Jaime Nared added nine points and seven rebounds.
Danni Williams led the Aggies with 18 points. Hillsman logged a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Curtyce Knox notched a double-double of her own, finishing with 10 points and 10 assists.
After holding a 20-15 advantage following the first quarter, Tennessee opened the second quarter with a 12-6 run over the first three minutes to build an 11-point lead. Texas A&M kept the score close as the Lady Vols went into the half ahead, 38-32.
Russell led the Lady Vols with 11 points in the first half, while Williams led the Aggies with 11 points of her own. Tennessee shot 46 percent from the floor in the opening half, with 18 points in the paint. Meme Jackson and Middleton combined for 12 points on mid-range jumpers.
Texas A&M came out of the gates hot in the second half, tying the game at 38-38 at the 7:21 mark of the third quarter. The Aggies took their first lead of the game after a Jasmine Lumpkin jumper with just over two minutes to go in quarter put Texas A&M in front, 47-46. Alexa Middleton answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to spark an 8-0 Tennessee run to close out the third.
Texas A&M started the fourth with a 12-5 run, and Knox knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 59 with 2:44 remaining.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will travel to Tuscaloosa, as they face Alabama on Feb. 16. It will have an 8 p.m. EST tip on SECN+.
MIDDLETON OVER LAST SEVEN GAMES: Over the last seven games, Middleton is averaging 9.2 points per game, shooting 27-of-55 (.491) from the floor. Tennessee is 5-2 over that stretch. This marked Middleton's third double-figure scoring game in SEC play.
MINIMIZING MISTAKES: Tennessee committed just seven turnovers against the Aggies, marking its fewest in SEC play this season. The Lady Vols have committed fewer than 10 turnovers six times this season and are 5-1 in such games.
RUSSELL'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Russell's 14 double-doubles on the season tie Candace Parker's 14 double-doubles from the 2007-08 season for the third-most by a Lady Vol junior in program history. Russell now has 25 double-doubles in her career, which ranks 10th in UT's all-time records.