Texas A&M Women Fall To Ohio State In Final Game Of Thanksgiving Shootout
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell matched the Ohio State women's record with 42 points and the No. 11 Buckeyes beat No. 10 Texas A&M 95-80 on Saturday in the final game of the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout.
Mitchell tied the school record set by Samantha Prahalis against Michigan State on Feb. 23, 2011.
The sophomore guard has 1,021 points in 41 games for the Buckeyes (4-2) to break the Big Ten record for fewest games to top 1,000. She was 12 of 20 from the field and made 15 of 16 free throws.
"Kelsey was very efficient today," coach Kevin McGuff said. "She's a special player and a great kid, and she has a tremendous impact on our team. She is one of the best players in the country. She just wants to do everything she can to help us win."
Ameryst Alston added 21 points to help give coach McGuff his 300th victory. He was 214-73 at Xavier, 41-26 at Washington and 45-31 with the Buckeyes.
"Ameryst is a great player, one of the best in the country," McGuff said. "She makes others better and was terrific on both ends of the floor today."
Courtney Williams had 21 points for Texas A&M (5-1), and Courtney Walker added 20.
"Texas A&M is a great basketball team that is well coached," McGuff said. "We switched from a man-to-man defense to zone, and that took them out of their rhythm and allowed us to get back in the game."
Mitchell scored 31 points in the second half to help the Buckeyes recover after they fell behind by 15 points at 19-4 in the first quarter.
"Being down, it sort of made us focus on what we needed to do as a team going into the second quarter," Mitchell said. "We needed to bounce back better in the second quarter."
Ohio State took the lead for good when Mitchell stole the ball and made a transition layup with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter. Alston added a 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 43-40 lead. Mitchell's 3-pointer made it 46-41 lead.
TIP-INS:
Ohio State: The Buckeyes shot 54 percent (34 for 63) from the field, including 66 percent (19 for 29) in the second half. ... The Buckeyes' Alexa Hart has blocked at least one shot in 26 consecutive games after registering one against the Aggies. She had a school-record 129 blocks last season.
UP NEXT:
Texas A&M host Hawaii in the first game of the Tom Weston Invitational on Friday night.
Ohio State visits No. 3 Notre Dame on Wednesday night.
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