TEXAS A&M WINS ON BUZZER-BEATER IN OT,
SAN ANTONIO — Jordan Nixon stood perfectly still and gazed upward after capping a career game for Texas A&M with a dramatic play in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Amid the chaos of the comeback victory, Nixon needed a second to remember Dave Edwards, an assistant coach on her high school team who succumbed to the coronavirus a year ago Tuesday at just 48.
“There was a little something in me that just wanted to do something for him to dedicate to him, to his memory,” an emotional Nixon said.
Nixon banked in a short jump shot at the buzzer in overtime, giving her a career-high 35 points and lifting No. 2 Texas A&M to an 84-82 victory over seventh-seeded Iowa State on Wednesday.
“I can hear him in my head,” Nixon said of Edwards, who played basketball at Texas A&M in the 1990s. “He was one of my biggest fans and this game is for him.”
Nixon scored seven of A&M’s nine points in OT, pushing the Aggies (25-2) into the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. She also led the rally in the fourth quarter, scoring the last four points of regulation.
“It’s always extremely surreal when you set a standard for yourself or you challenge yourself to rise to an occasion and you actually do it,” she said.
Added Texas A&M coach Gary Blair: “That was a championship performance. … Jordan Nixon is a winner.”
A 3 by Lexi Donarski put the Cyclones up by two with two minutes left in overtime, and Nixon tied it with a layup a few seconds later. Ciera Johnson blocked a layup by Ashley Joens with 3 seconds left before Nixon drove into the lane and threw up the game-winner.
“You’re just trying to keep the ball in front of you and she’s a really hard kid to keep in front,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “We didn’t do a very good job of it obviously all night, and she made a great play, a great play.”
Johnson had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Aggies, who narrowly escaped an upset bid by No. 15 seed Troy in the first round.
Joens had 32 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Cyclones (17-11), who went 16 for 30 from 3-point range. Donarski finished with 18 points.
“Unfortunately for us, A&M made one more play, wherever that one play was in the game, they made it and we didn’t,” Fennelly said.