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Lady Vols top No. 13 Texas A&M to claim SEC crown

Mar 1, 2013 - 3:37 AM Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Kamiko Williams scored a career-high 18 points as eighth-ranked Tennessee captured the SEC regular-season championship with an 82-72 triumph over No. 13 Texas A&M Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Meighan Simmons added 17 points and Cierra Burdick pulled down 14 rebounds -- nine on the offensive end -- to go along with 15 points for the Lady Volunteers (23-5, 14-1 SEC), who take a six-game win streak into Sunday's regular-season finale at 10th-ranked Kentucky.

Adrienne Pratcher knocked down 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range en route to a game-high 20 points for Texas A&M (21-8, 11-4), but the Aggies couldn't overcome a 44-27 disadvantage on the boards and were a dealt a second defeat in as many games.

Kelsey Bone and Courtney Williams finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Texas A&M.

The Aggies challenged Tennessee most of the way, and trailed just 39-38 after Williams capped an 6-2 spurt to begin the second half. It was a three-point game with 12 minutes left, before the Lady Vols embarked on a 9-0 run that began with Bashaara Graves' 3-point play to take a 62-50 lead at the midway mark of the second half.

Texas A&M battled back to pull to within 76-72 on Courtney Walker's basket with 3:50 left, but Tennessee's defense clamped down to hold the Aggies scoreless the rest of the way.