Jan. 5, 2005
Box Score
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Sophia Young had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Steffanie Blackmon added 20 points and No. 3 Baylor shrugged off 22 turnovers, beating Texas A&M 64-50 in the conference opener for both teams Wednesday night.
Young led Baylor's defensive effort, finishing with 12 rebounds as the Lady Bears (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) rallied in the second half.
"It was ugly," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson. "When you start off the game with a turnover, you know it could be a long night. We took their best shot, played ugly, and won the ballgame."
Baylor held the Aggies to three points in the game's final six minutes, after Patrice Reado's putback pulled Texas A&M to within three points at 50-47.
The Aggies tied the game 44-all on Ashley Bolden's layup with just over eight minutes remaining, but Baylor outscored Texas A&M 20-6 to close out the game.
"A&M had a really good aggressive defense," Blackmon said. "But Baylor knows A&M, and A&M knows Baylor. Eventually, we settled down and got it in."
Charlette Castile led the Aggie with 12 points, and Tamea Scales added 11.
Free-throw shooting hampered Texas A&M. The Aggies shot 10-for-20 from the line, while the Lady Bears shot 17-for-22.
"We did a poor job at the free-throw line," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. "We had it fast and ugly, just like we wanted it. But we didn't get the job done, and Baylor did."
With the score tied at 16, Baylor put together a 10-0 run for a 26-16 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half. The Aggies countered with five straight points and trailed 26-21 at the half.
