By ROBERT CESSNA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The venue changed, but Texas A&M's domination of Texas in women's basketball remained the same.
The 11th-ranked Aggies used a 13-0 run early in the second half to extend what might be the school's most impressive run in any sport against its arch rival. A&M's 77-64 victory in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Friday before 5,603 fans at Municipal Auditorium was the Aggies' eighth straight in the series and 10th in the last 11 games. A&M has won each of the last six games by double digits, and UT -- which once led the series 57-8 -- lost three games in a season to the Aggies for the first time.
"I think they know we're here now and we're not going to go away," A&M head coach Gary Blair said.
The program's turnaround extends beyond beating up on the Longhorns.
The Aggies, who had made seven straight first-round exits at the Big 12 Tournament, are now in the semifinals for the fifth straight year.
A&M (23-7) will face third-ranked Nebraska at noon Saturday. The Cornhuskers (30-0), who advanced with a 63-46 victory over Kansas State on Friday, beat A&M 71-60 on Feb. 6 in Lincoln, Neb.
The Aggies are hopeful their shot at revenge goes better than the attempt by the 15th-ranked Longhorns, who succumbed to A&M's defensive pressure.
Sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette gave Texas its last lead at 40-38 with a pair of free throws with 15 minutes, 51 seconds. The Longhorns had three turnovers and missed four 3-pointers in the next 4 1/2 minutes, helping to fuel A&M's run to a 51-40 lead.
"Once they scored in transition, it gave them confidence," UT coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Their wings started hitting some pull-up [jump shots] as well."
The Longhorns managed to play through 15 first-half turnovers but the Aggies made them pay for sloppy ballhandling in the second half, with a pair of miscues jump-starting A&M's surge.
Texas senior guard Brittainey Raven had the ball stolen by Sydney Colson, who passed to Tyra White for a score. A&M grabbed the lead on a layup by Damitria Buchanan that came off a turnover by UT's Kathleen Nash.
A&M's three players from Kansas City -- sophomore guard White, senior guard Tanisha Smith and junior post Danielle Adams -- closed out the run highlighted by White's 3-pointer.
"We tightened up our defense," Smith said. "We had a couple of steals and looked up in transition and that's basically where our points came from, transition, knowing where each other was going to be."
Fontenette, who led UT with 21 points, made a layup to momentarily stop A&M's onslaught, but the Aggies answered with seven more points and the reeling Longhorns never got closer than 12 points.
Texas finished with a season-high 26 turnovers.
"Obviously, their pressure bothered us," Goestenkors said. "We've had 20 or more turnovers every time we've played them [this year], so that's the name of the game. You can't score if you don't have the ball and we gave them too many opportunities and they took advantage of it."
The Kansas City natives combined for 57 points, which matched their season-high total.
"It's special to be able to bring them back home, and they're the most unselfish kids you've ever seen in your life," Blair said.
Smith had 21 points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists. She had to go to the bench after picking up two fouls with A&M only up 16-14. She returned for the last six minutes of the first half to score six points in helping A&M to a 34-30 lead.
"It was exciting playing here, I haven't played here in years," Smith said. "At the same time, we're here in Kansas City, but we're representing the team on the front of our jersey."
White added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Adams, the league's Newcomer of the Year, came off the bench for 18 points, five rebounds and three steals in her first game at Municipal.
A couple of A&M's homegrown players had solid games.
Sophomore forward Adaora Elonu had a career-high 11 rebounds as the taller Longhorns only had a 42-41 rebounding edge.
Junior point guard Sydney Carter came off the bench for eight points and six assists.
"She gave us the spark that we had to have because we were standing around the perimeter against their zone," Blair said. "I wanted to push the ball and I wanted her to create offense off of the dribble, which she did."
A&M had an 18-6 edge on fast-break points as starting point guard Sydney Carter, Colson and Smith combined for 18 assists.
"We have outstanding guards and you win with guards," Blair said. "They made great decisions."
They also helped force UT guards Fontenette, Erika Arriaran and Raven into a combined 16 turnovers.
"You're not going to be successful if your guards can't handle the ball, handle the pressure and handle the situation," Goestenkors said. "And they didn't do any of the above so it was a frustrating night for all three of them."
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