11Notre Dame 70 - 76 Texas A&M
Final
  for this game

Aggies top Irish for women's NCAA title

Apr 6, 2011 - 4:39 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Danielle Adams poured in 30 points and Texas A&M captured its first title in women's college basketball, beating Notre Dame 76-70 on Tuesday in the final of the NCAA Tournament.

Tyra White added 18 points, including a key three-pointer late in regulation with Irish star Skylar Diggins in her face.

The Aggies (33-5) completed an improbable run through the tournament, knocking off No. 1 seeds Baylor and Stanford to reach the championship game for the first time.

The Irish (31-8) batted back from an 18-6 deficit, but failed in a bid to win their first title since 2001 after shocking Maya Moore and top-seeded Connecticut on Sunday.

Diggins scored 23 points in the loss and Devereaux Peters had 21 with 11 rebounds.

Named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, Adams collected 22 of her points in the second half as the Aggies pulled away for the win, outscoring Notre Dame 43-35 in the final 20 minutes.

White buried a fall-away three-pointer over Diggins on the left side that gave Texas A&M a 73-68 lead with just over a minute remaining. Peters had scored on a layup at the other end to make it a two-point game, but White's shot was a momentum-killer.

"It wasn't even in the game plan for me to shoot that three," said White. "I didn't even make it in practice."

Diggins knocked down a pair of free throws to get the Irish within 73-70 with 40.7 seconds remaining. But after Sydney Colson turned the ball over for Texas A&M, giving Notre Dame a key possession, Diggins also lost the ball in traffic at the other end.

White hit a pair of free throws to make it 75-70 and Diggins missed a jumper at the other end with just 13 seconds remaining, all but sealing the loss.

Diggins, who scored 28 points in Sunday's win over the two-time defending champion Huskies, walked off the court just before the buzzer sounded, escaping the Texas A&M celebration.

"I just wanted to get off for my team and get ready to talk to everybody and finish it out with the huddle," she said.

The Irish were playing for the title in the their home state, just the third time in tournament history that's happened.






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