Wilson has 16 as No. 10 Texas A&M outlasts Rice 57-53

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Aaliyah Wilson scored 16 points, including a key basket late, as No. 10 Texas A&M outlasted Rice 57-53 on Sunday.

Nancy Mulkey made two free throws to get the Owls within 1 with less than a minute left. But Wilson made a jumper soon after that to make it 56-53 and Ciera Johnson added a free throw with 3 seconds left to secure the victory.

Jasmine Smith had 18 points to lead Rice (4-1) as the Owls lost for the first time this season.

The win is the eighth straight victory in the series for Texas A&M (8-0).

Texas A&M was up by 8 after two free throws by Johnson with about 6½ minutes left in the fourth quarter. India Bellamy scored the next five points for the Owls to get them within 50-47 a couple of minutes later.

The Owls used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 52-51 with less than 1½ minutes to go. Kayla Wells made a layup for the Aggies to extend the lead to 3 with about a minute left.

Rice led 28-24 at halftime after Smith scored 11 points in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

After three straight blowouts, Sunday’s game was a good test for the Aggies as they head toward the start of SEC play.

UP NEXT

RICE: The Owls don’t play again until Jan. 1 when they play the first of two consecutive games at Texas-San Antonio.

TEXAS A&M: The Aggies are off until Dec. 28 when they host Northwestern State in their last non-conference tuneup before opening SEC play against Tennessee on Dec. 31.