Aggies get rare win over Top 10 team

Takia Starks had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 19 Texas A&M beat ninth-ranked Baylor 60-52 Saturday, the Aggies' first win over a Top-10 team in five years.

Morenike Atunrase scored 13 and A'Quonesia Franklin sank three 3-pointers and added 12 for the Aggies (12-3, 2-1 Big 12), who overcame 32 percent shooting and 19 turnovers to snap a 13-game losing streak in the series.

The Aggies beat a ranked team for the first time this season and defeated a Top-10 opponent for the first time since an 88-71 win over then-No. 5 Iowa State in January 2002.

Bernice Mosby had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Baylor (15-3, 2-2).

The Bears never solved A&M's league-leading scoring defense, shooting 35 percent (17-of-49). A&M also leads the Big 12 in 3-point defense, and limited Baylor to 0-for-3 from behind the line in the second half and 2-for-7 for the game.

The Bears opened the game with a 17-5 spurt as the Aggies missed 14 of their first 16 shots, many of them uncontested. A&M also coughed up four turnovers in the first 8 minutes.

After a time out, the Aggies mounted a quick 7-0 burst, finished by Starks' steal and pull-up jumper with 9:55 left in the first half.

Mosby and Rachel Allison scored inside to stretch Baylor's lead back to nine, but then the Aggies' defense took control, holding the Bears without a field goal for 8 minutes.

Franklin finished a fast break with a layup and sank a 3-pointer, and Katy Pound added a turnaround with 2:13 left in the half to give A&M its first lead, at 26-24.

Baylor lost four turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the second half and A&M built a five-point lead.

But the Aggies went cold again, going 5 minutes without a field goal, and Jhasmin Player's free throws with 10:27 left tied the game at 42-all.

Franklin ended the A&M drought with her third 3-pointer and triggered a decisive 7-0 spurt.

Mosby hit two free throws with 8:23 to go, but Atunrase sank a 3-pointer with 5:05 left to put A&M up 52-44.

The Bears went 9 minutes without a field goal and got beaten up along the way.

Danielle Wilson bloodied her nose going for a rebound and Latara Darrett twisted her right ankle with 4:01 left. Darrett, Baylor's top 3-point shooter, spent the rest of the game on the bench with an ice pack on her ankle.

Wilson hit a jumper from the wing with 3:44 left to cut A&M's lead to 54-47, but the Bears got no closer than five after that.

The Aggies improved to 9-0 this season at Reed Arena.