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Riley scores 31 to lead Cowgirls over Aggies

Jan 31, 2010 - 9:14 PM By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE STATION, Texas(AP) -- Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke wasn't too concerned when Andrea Riley had a bad first half on Sunday against Texas A&M.

He knew she'd make up for it after halftime.

Riley shook off early foul trouble to score 31 points and rally No. 15 Oklahoma State to a 67-63 win over No. 8 Texas A&M.

The Cowgirls (18-3, 6-1 Big 12) trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before Riley, who had three fouls early, led the comeback with her 27 second-half points.

"I always know that if she has a bad first half, you better watch out in the second half," Budke said.

The Aggies (15-4, 3-3) led by three before a 3-pointer by Riley tied it at 61-all. She got a steal on Texas A&M's ensuing possession and Precious Robinson gave Oklahoma State its first lead with a layup with 1:03 left.

Robinson added a pair of free throws with 30 seconds remaining to push the lead to 65-61.

Tanisha Smith made a layup with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to two, but Riley hit two free throws with eight seconds remaining to secure the win.

"It was such a scramble, such a hard fought game, the only difference is that I have Andrea Riley," Budke said. "She's going to get it done more times than she's not going to get it done. She's one of the most special players in America."

Riley wasn't sure if this was her best half of basketball and deflected talk of her play to her teammates.

"I think that we got down and dirty as a team," she said. "That's what you have to do when you play A&M. You can't back off and play soft because they come out hard."

The 5-foot-5 Riley finished with four offensive rebounds, including a key pair down the stretch.

"I thought I was 6-4," she said with a laugh before Budke added that she takes the most pride in her offensive rebounds.

Texas A&M led by 10 points before the Cowgirls went on a 11-3 run capped by a 3-pointer by Ally Clardy to cut the lead to 55-53 with about six minutes remaining.

A&M scored the next four points before Riley scored five straight to get Oklahoma State within 59-58.

Texas A&M was led by Danielle Adams who had 24 points and Sydney Carter added 12.

It was an ugly game with the teams combining for 39 turnovers. Oklahoma State had 21 and A&M finished with 18.

Oklahoma State cut the lead to five points with a 3-pointer early in the second half, but Adams scored five straight points to stretch the lead to 33-23.

Tegan Cunningham had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma State and Robinson finished with 10 points.

"Their role players played their roles and their stars starred and that's how you win ball games playing top 25," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said.

Blair was disappointed that his team, which has dropped two in a row, let a double-digit second-half lead evaporate.

"If our kids want to go to that next level it's time to quit talking about it and get into the gym and get better at what they do," he said. "We need to respond to adversity better than what we're doing."

Texas A&M got off to a quick start and was up 15-4 with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Cowgirls scored five straight points, including four by Riley, to get within six points about eight minutes before halftime. But Riley got her third foul seconds later, sending her to the bench for the rest of the half.

The Aggies were ahead by five when they went on a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Adams to stretch the lead to 26-14 about three minutes before halftime.

The Cowgirls scored six of the last eight points of the first half to cut A&M's halftime lead to 28-20.

Oklahoma State's 20 first-half points were its fewest of the season.