Associated Press
Nebraska was bidding to become just the 12th team to make it to the NCAA tournament unbeaten. Griffin, the Big 12 player of the year and catalyst behind the only undefeated regular season in conference history, had three fouls at halftime and got saddled with her fourth early in the second half.
With the 6-foot-2 senior sitting long-faced on the bench for several minutes at a stretch, the Huskers (30-1) could not stop their school-record winning streak from coming to an end.
Top-ranked UConn (33-0) is the only unbeaten team heading to the NCAA tournament.
Griffin finished with 15 points in 26 minutes, five below her average and nine fewer than she totaled in Friday’s win over Kansas State.
With Adams scoring all but two of her points in the second half, the Aggies (24-7) constructed an insurmountable lead that reached 65-47 when Adaora Elonu stole a Husker pass and Adams converted it into a layup.
Texas A&M, which lost to Nebraska 71-60 on Feb. 6, advanced to the tournament championship game for the third year in a row and will meet the winner of the semifinal between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the title game on Sunday.
Elonu had 18 points and Tyra White had 13 for the Aggies, who finished second behind Nebraska in the Big 12 regular season in scoring and scoring margin. Dominique Kelley led Nebraska with 18 points while Yvonne Turner had 14 for the team that had steamrolled most of its opponents during the greatest season in school history.
With neither team hardly missing a shot, the lead changed hands on nine consecutive possessions in the early going before Adaora Elonu banked in a short jumper and ignited a 10-2 run for the Aggies.
Sydney Colson and Sydney Carter each hit 3-pointers in the spree and a moment later Carter connected from atop the key for a 28-18 A&M lead.
The Aggies led by as many as 13 — the biggest deficit the Huskers had faced all season — before taking a 39-28 lead into intermission. It was just the third time in their previously undefeated season the Huskers had trailed at halftime and was by far their largest halftime deficit. And the Aggies did it without shooting a single free throw.
A&M also held a 46-32 rebounding edge while shooting 53 percent and holding the Huskers to 37 percent.
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