Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Devin Cosper scored a career-high 18 points as Arkansas won for the first time over former coach Gary Blair with a 67-61 victory over No. 13 Texas A&M on Thursday night.
The win is the first in six tries against Blair for the Razorbacks (6-9, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a 53-point loss at No. 2 South Carolina.
Arkansas led by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter before the Aggies (11-4, 1-1) twice closed the lead to one point with less than a minute remaining.
Jessica Jackson, who finished with 17 points, and Cosper were perfect on free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.
"It's such a difficult challenge when you get smoked on the road like we did last Sunday," Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said. "... We deserved to win the game tonight; we were the better team."
Courtney Walker had 24 points to lead Texas A&M, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Chelsea Jennings added 10 points, and Khaalia Hillsman had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Aggies — who shot 36.2 percent (25 of 69) overall and 2 of 17 (11.8 percent) on 3-pointers in the loss.
"All Arkansas tonight," said Blair, who still lives in Fayetteville and had family at the game. "They outplayed us in every facet of the game until the end."
After leading by 10 points at halftime, Arkansas stretched its lead to as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter — going up 52-38 following a drive and layup by Cosper.
The sophomore scored in double figures for the seventh time in her last 10 games, topping her previous career best of 16 points against Texas last month.
Walker, who was 10 of 19 from the field, brought Texas A&M to within 62-61, but Cosper hit two free throws with 25.8 seconds remaining to extend Arkansas' lead to 64-61.
Following a miss by Danni Williams on the other end, Jackson then scored on the break and was fouled for a three-point play to secure the win and put the Razorbacks up 67-61.
___
TIP INS
Texas A&M: The shooting performance for the Aggies was their second-worst of the season, following a 35.5 percent (27 of 76) performance in a 72-66 win at Duke on Nov. 18. The dismal 3-point shooting, however, wasn't the worst — thanks to a 0-for-13 effort in a win over Hawaii on Dec. 4.
Arkansas: Jackson, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points per game, has now scored in double figures in 12 of the 14 games she's played in this season.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M is at LSU on Sunday.
Arkansas is at No. 7 Mississippi State on Sunday.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
