GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Kiara Williams grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and was fouled on a putback, sinking two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to lift fifth-seeded Arkansas to a 67-66 win over fourth-seeded Texas A&M on Friday in a battle of Top 25 teams in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The 25th-ranked Razorbacks never led until Williams made her free throws. She grabbed a rebound of an Amber Ramirez miss but her putback was partially blocked. She went back up and grabbed the loose ball and was fouled.
The 15th-ranked Aggies went to top scorer Chennedy Carter but her floater in the lane was blocked by Rokia Doubia and time ran out.
Arkansas (24-7) faces league champion South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country, in the first semifinal Saturday night.
Makyala Daniels led the Razorbacks with 13 points, Chelsea Dungee added 12 and Williams and Alexis Tolefree 11 each.
Carter had 23 points and Kayla Wells 19 for the Aggies. N’dea Jones scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Texas A&M (22-8) scored the first 12 points of the game and led 38-26 behind Carter’s 17 points. The Aggies shot 52% and the Razorbacks 23%, going 3 of 18 on 3-pointers. Dundee, who had one point in the first half, opened and closed Arkansas’ scoring in the third quarter, when the Razorbacks got as close as one.
Arkansas cut the deficit to a single possession three times, the last on a Ramirez jumper that made it 66-65 with 1:07 to play. Texas A&M got an offensive rebound after a missed 3-pointer but turned the ball over with 26.8 seconds to go.
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