No. 15 Texas A&M women edge Auburn 64-62 in SEC tourney

Mar 9, 2019, 04:10 am

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kayla Wells scored 28 points and hit the game-winner with 5.3 seconds left to push No. 15 Texas A&M past Auburn 64-62 on Friday night in a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal.

The third-seeded Aggies (24-6) move on to face No. 10 seed Arkansas in a Saturday semifinal despite committing a season-high 26 turnovers. The Aggies also played without Chennedy Carter. The SEC scoring leader will miss the conference tournament with a fractured finger on her right shooting hand.

Ciera Johnson and N'dea Jones added 12 points apiece for Texas A&M. Jones scored 10 points in the second half, and finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.

Janiah McKay scored 17 points and Unique Thompson had 13 for sixth-seeded Auburn (22-9).

Jones scored on a left-handed layup that tied it at 62 with 1:11 left, and Auburn missed on its next possession. Following a Texas A&M timeout with 26.3 seconds left, Wells drove the lane and scored on a turnaround jumper.

McKay lost her footing at the top of the arc, yet managed to toss up an awkward 3-point attempt that fell short at the buzzer.

Auburn built a 32-28 halftime lead, with 13 points coming off 18 Aggie turnovers. Texas A&M opened the third quarter on a 15-2 run, but Robyn Benton hit a fade-away jumper at the quarter-buzzer to give the Tigers a 51-50 lead and momentum entering the fourth.