COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 28 points and Tessa Johnson tied a career high with 19 points and five 3-pointers to help No. 3 South Carolina beat Texas A&M 71-56 on Monday night.
South Carolina (22-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) led by 16 points, but Edwards went on a 9-0 run and scored eight straight points with less than two minutes left to push the score to 67-53 and once lead by five points.
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Johnson took his first four three-point attempts and hit all five of his three-pointers in the first half. She made 5 of 11 long-range shots.
The Aggies hit all six free throws in the fourth quarter but missed their first 10 shots of the quarter before Janai Kent hit a 3-pointer with 90 seconds left.
Ny’ceara Pryor scored 14 points for Texas A&M (8-10, 1-8), which has lost six straight. The Aggies looked much better on Monday night than they have in recent games, having lost four of their previous five games by 25 points or more.
Salese Blow hit two free throws within seconds of A&M entering the fourth quarter and two more with about eight minutes left to pull Texas A&M within 55-51. Alicia Tournebize scored her second free throw of the quarter for South Carolina with 7.5 minutes remaining.
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The first shot of the quarter didn’t come until Edwards’ jumper extended the lead to 58-51 about a minute later.
The Gamecocks led by 16 points with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter before the Aggies scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by Pryor, to make it 53-44. After that, South Carolina made two free throws and Pryor hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, extending the lead to 55-47 entering the fourth quarter.
Next
South Carolina: Host Mississippi State on Thursday night.
Texas A&M: Host No. 21 Alabama on Sunday.
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