The final day of the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament produced some sensational games, including a pair of massive comebacks from 2-seeds Louisville and Texas A&M. The Cardinals trailed Northwestern 25-10 after one quarter, but steadily chipped away at the Wildcats lead, en route to a 62-53 win. The Aggies, however, needed an extra five minutes to put away a feisty Iowa State team that led by nine going into the fourth quarter.
Jordan Nixon helmed the comeback effort, scoring 35 points to help the Aggies claw their way back to even, hitting the game-tying bucket late.
OH MY NIXON TIES IT UP!#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/vRQN33P8MM
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 25, 2021
The Cyclones, led by 32 points from Ashley Joens, would have a chance to win it, but a pair of Texas A&M blocks late forced overtime.
ESPN2 isn’t showing a replay of that last sequence, for some reason, so here you go. pic.twitter.com/MvdjmAdQnj
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 25, 2021
In the overtime period, Texas A&M jumped out to an early advantage, but Iowa State had an answer, taking a brief lead of their own at 80-78. Nixon refused to let the Aggies get upset, though, as she took the ball coast-to-coast with six seconds to play after an Iowa State miss for the game-winner.
JORDAN NIXON FOR THE WIN!!
(via @ncaawbb)pic.twitter.com/EdNK34o2pG
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 25, 2021
It looks like the Cyclones try to take a foul as Nixon crosses midcourt, but the referees didn’t call it and Nixon is able to work into the lane, absorb the contact, and get the friendly roll for the buzzer-beater. It was a sensational finish and the first buzzer-beater of either NCAA Tournament, as the madness finally arrived in full in San Antonio. Afterwards, Nixon was emotional talking about the trust her teammates have in her and what the moment meant.
Emotions take over for Jordan Nixon as she reflects on a historic moment in her career. @AggieWBB#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/XHKcEK46Va
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 25, 2021