• Box Score: Texas A&M 80, Nebraska 70

• Photo Showcase: Nebraska vs. Texas A&M

• Video: Postgame press conference with NU coach Connie Yori from the Nebraska-Texas A&M game:



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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For once, Nebraska ran out of options.

The Huskers, balanced and versatile, have spent the season inventing ways to win, thwarting various opponent schemes by effectively capitalizing on any overlooked aspect.

But Saturday, nothing went right for NU.

No. 4 seed Texas A&M beat the formerly unbeaten Huskers in all areas, controlling the Big 12 tournament semifinal from the start and holding off a desperate NU surge late for an 80-70 win.

It’s Nebraska’s first loss, and the first time that coach Connie Yori watched her team finish a game with holes in every part of its on-the-court execution.

“We didn’t play our best basketball, but I thought A&M just played very, very well,” Yori said. “They definitely beat us in all facets of the game today.”

The top-seeded Huskers (30-1) were outrebounded for just the seventh time this year, but the 14-board margin was by far the largest opponent advantage of the season.

Not counting its final shooting surge ­— NU hit five of its last six shots — Nebraska made just 32.1 percent of its field goals Saturday, a figure that would have been a season low.

The Aggies’ 80 points were more than any other team has scored against the Huskers all season. Only two NU opponents, Texas and Colorado, shot better than A&M, which was 53.1 percent from the field Saturday.

“It’s hard to lose a game,” said senior Kelsey Griffin, who spent the entire game playing with rare foul trouble. “To lose to a team that played really great, you know, that’s going to happen.”

Griffin had four fouls just three minutes into the second half, so she watched much of it from the bench. Meanwhile, her teammates struggled to keep pace with the surging Aggies, who have now won eight of their last nine.

The Huskers, trailing 39-28 at the break, never cut their deficit to single digits after halftime. They were unable to make the kind of momentum-shifting spurt that has boosted them at other mid-game points of adversity earlier in the season.

Nebraska pulled within 11 on three occasions — once after Nicole Neals’ 3-pointer with 12:19 left, again when Griffin’s field goal made it 55-44 at the 10:21 mark and finally on two Dominique Kelley free throws in the last minute.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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