Edwards Leads No. 3 South Carolina Past Texas A&M, 71-56.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Joyce Edwards scored 28 points, and Tessa Johnson contributed 19 points, tying her career high with five 3-pointers, as No. 3 South Carolina defeated Texas A&M 71-56 on Monday night. The Gamecocks (22-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) held a lead of up to 16 points, but the game tightened to a five-point margin before Edwards scored eight points in a 9-0 run, extending the lead to 67-53 with less than two minutes remaining. Johnson made her first four 3-point attempts and finished 5 of 11 from beyond the arc, with all five successful shots coming in the first half. Texas A&M (8-10, 1-8) struggled in the fourth quarter, missing their first 10 shots despite making six free throws. Janae Kent finally converted a 3-pointer with 90 seconds remaining. Ny’ceara Pryor led the Aggies with 14 points, as the team suffered its sixth consecutive loss. This performance marked an improvement compared to recent games, in which Texas A&M lost four of five contests by 25 points or more.

Early in the fourth quarter, Salese Blow scored four points from the free-throw line, cutting the deficit to 55-51. Alicia Tournebize hit South Carolina’s first point of the period from the free-throw line with 7½ minutes remaining, and Edwards followed with a jump shot to extend the lead to 58-51. The Aggies had briefly narrowed South Carolina’s lead to 53-44 late in the third quarter after a seven-point run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Pryor. South Carolina responded with two free throws and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Pryor ended the quarter at 55-47.