A&M Wins First NCAA Championship

by oseana on 06. Apr, 2011 in Featured, NCAA Sports News

The Texas A&M Aggie ladies, defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, to win their first NCAA women’s National Championship in school history.

The defense was the difference for the Aggies. Their press defense put intense pressure on Notre Dame to start the game.

At the 6 1/2 minute mark, A&M had jumped out to a 10 point lead (16-6), causing the Fighting Irish to call a full timeout and rethink their game plan and gain some composer.

It just didn’t work though, the Aggies increased their lead at one point in the first half to 13 points.

Then Notre Dame returned the favor with some high intensity defense of their own and some tough inside play, and with 2:46 to go in the first half, closed the lead to 2 points.

With 1 minute to go in the first half, Notre Dame had not only closed the gap, but took their first lead of the game, 35-33, and that is how the half would end.

Notre Dame got off to a great start in the second half increasing their lead to 7 points, 3 minutes into the half (44-37).

But the tough play of Texas A&M’s Tyra White and Danielle Adams tied the game back up at 48-48, with 14 minutes left in the game.

That’s when Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins got hot. In a span of 6 minutes she hit 9 points, keeping the game tied. During that period it was like her against the Aggies, who had 6 different players score.

With 3:56 seconds left, the game was tied at 66-66. The game just kept flopping back in forth as both teams wanted just as badly.

Danielle Adams, then made 4 points, 1 rebound, and a block, over just a 1:13, and gave the Aggies the 70-66 lead.

With just 1:06 left in the game, Tyra White hit a 3 pointer, and you could see the hearts of the Irish sink, as that gave the Aggies the 73-68 lead.

The Irish got a couple of free throws from Diggins to make it a 3 point game, but the she turned the ball over on a Tyra White steal, which lead to 2 points from the free throw line for the Aggies.

The lead was now 5, and only 20 seconds remained on the clock. Notre Dame’s Diggins and Mallory both missed shots, leaving only a few seconds on the clock, and so the Irish had to foul.

The Aggie’s Adam hit 1 of 2, increasing the lead to 76-70.

This is how the game ended. This was a great basketball game, and a historic moment for the Texas A&M Aggies, a former all-men’s military academy, who just won their first NCAA Women’s National Championship.

Notre Dame’s Diggins was the top performer for her team. She had 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist, and 4 steals.

Danielle Adams, was the star player for her team, with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. Twenty of her points came in the second half. Her 30 point effort, was a new school record for the NCAA tourney.

The Aggie defense forced 16 turnovers in the game, 7 of which came in the first 7 minutes. Coach Gary Blair, is now the oldest women’s coach to win a National women’s basketball title.

Congratulations to Coach Blair, and the Aggie’s women’s basketball team for a great season.

Also, congratulations to the Notre Dame women and their coaches for a great season.

image:getty/Elsa