Aggies stage Tournament-record rally

21-point deficit in 4th quarter erased with 25-1 blitz

LOS ANGELES — Khaalia Hillsman scored 27 points, and Texas A&M overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Penn 6361 on Saturday night for the biggest comeback in women’s NCAA Tournament history.

Hillsman scored the go-ahead basket with 19.1 seconds left as the fifth-seeded Aggies used a 25-1 run to beat the 12th-seeded Quakers.

The rally surpassed the previous record for largest comeback at 16 points, which, according to the NCAA, occurred twice in the Tournament. Notre Dame rallied from 16 down in 2001 against Connecticut, and Michigan State did it against Tennessee in 2005.

The Quakers (22-8) had won 13 of their last 14 games entering Saturday.

panovich’srendous dominated And shooting20 the sparked by Sydney Stints points and some horbygame through three by the Aggies, they quarters.But after going down by 21 points, the Aggies (22-11) went to full-court pressure. The Quakers turned the ball over 12 times and then went cold from the field, not converting a bas ket for the final 8:5 of the game. The Quakers missed their final 10 shots from the field.

The Aggies also went cold from the field until the final minutes.

Danni Williams hit a deep 3-pointer with 36 seconds left to set up Hillsman for the go-ahead basket. Hillsman added nine rebounds.

The Aggies scored 20 points from the free-throw line (20 of 26), including 13 in the fourth quarter.

The comeback matched the largest in A&M history. The Aggies came from 21 points down to beat Seton Hall during the 2003-04 season.

The victory was No. 739 for A&M coach Gary Blair, tying him with Debbie Ryan for 12th place on the women’s career list.

The Aggies will meet fourth-seeded UCLA, an 83-56 winner over Boise State, on Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.