No. 10 Texas A&M rallies late for 68-61 win over No. 20 California to remain undefeated

Texas A&M earns hard-fought win at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. — Danielle Adams scored eight of her 15 points over the final 3:18 and No. 10 Texas A&M rallied late for a hard-fought 68-61 victory over No. 20 California on Sunday in the Colliers International Classic final.

Adams made 6 of her 7 free-throw attempts in the waning minutes and Tanisha Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:36 to play for the Aggies (6-0), who overcame a 17-3 second-half run by the Golden Bears (4-3) and a 49-34 rebounding deficit. Adaora Elonu scored 16 points, Smith finished with 14 and Sydney Colson had 13 and six assists.

DeNesha Stallworth scored 19 points to go with nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks and Alexis Gray-Lawson added 18 points and four assists but shot 6 for 25 for Cal.

The Bears trailed 44-35 early in the second half before their big run gave them a 52-47 lead, but they missed too many opportunities down the stretch and committed 21 turnovers.

Cal outscrapped and outhustled Texas A&M for much of the game, but still lost another tough one to a ranked opponent. The Bears lost 69-49 at home to No. 8 Baylor on Nov. 22, then at third-ranked Ohio State 83-71 on Nov. 29.

Fifth-year coach Joanne Boyle will have to wait at least another game to get her 100th victory at the school. She will become only the second women’s basketball coach to reach that mark at Cal along with Gooch Foster (279).

It was the second straight game the Aggies needed a late charge to win after they beat Southern Illinois 72-58 on Saturday at Cal’s Haas Pavilion.

Texas A&M came in as the fifth-highest scoring team in the country but shot only 36.1 percent Sunday and went 6 for 17 from 3-point range. The Aggies did make 18 of their 23 free throws.

Elonu scored four straight points to get Texas A&M within 52-51 with 3:58 to play and Adams’ two free throws at the 3:18 mark gave her team the lead.

The Aggies get to go home to finish a tough stretch in which they are playing four games in seven days. Texas A&M has a home date with North Texas on Tuesday.

Texas A&M committed only seven turnovers, including just one in the first half when the Aggies shot 46.9 percent despite a couple of cold stretches.

Gray-Lawson matched Cal’s career 3-point mark with 159, which she shares with Jennifer Self (1989-92).

Cal crashed the boards to create second-chance opportunities in the first half, but shot just 6-for-13 from the free throw line.

The Aggies missed five of their first six 3-point tries before making four of their next six on the way to a 36-29 halftime lead.