Jan. 2, 2017
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M used a balanced scoring attack and a big fourth-quarter surge to down Vanderbilt, 77-72, on Monday night.
Five players finished in double figures for the Aggies (11-3, 1-0), led by Anriel Howard and Jasmine Lumpkin with 17 points each.
Texas A&M outscored Vanderbilt 27-15 in the final 10 minutes to erase the Commodores’ seven-point lead and send Vanderbilt (10-4, 0-1) to its third straight loss.
Freshman Kayla Overbeck had 13 points and seven rebounds for Vanderbilt and fellow freshman Kaleigh Clemons-Green added a career-high 13 points. Christa Reed and Rachel Bell had 10 each for the Commodores in the SEC debut for head coach Stephanie White.
Vanderbilt trailed by six in the fourth quarter but battled back to trim the deficit to 73-72 on a 3-pointer by Erin Whalen with 32 seconds to play. But that proved to be the final points for the Commodores, and Texas A&M sealed the deal with four straight free throws.
The Commodores led by as much as 13 points early in the third quarter, but Texas A&M chipped away for the remainder of the period and then put together a surge in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to move in front.
Vanderbilt owned a 35-26 lead at the half, thanks in large part to some impressive play from the Commodore freshmen, who combined for 26 points in the first 20 minutes. Overbeck lead the way, going 5-of-7 from the floor and scoring 12 points.
The Commodores trailed 18-17 early in the second quarter, but closed the period on an 18-8 run to build a nine-point halftime lead. Cierra Walker capped the first half with a long 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds.
Vanderbilt hosts Tennessee on Thursday.
