KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Texas A&M used a different defensive approach against Nebraska Saturday, an on-the-fly adjustment that the Huskers didn't expect because of a short turnaround.

Preparation has been an important part of the NU winning streak, but coach Connie Yori had little time to get her team ready for its Big 12 tournament semifinal. And it showed at times during the 80-70 defeat, NU's first loss.

The Aggies, normally a man-to-man team, stifled Nebraska's offensive attack with their 2-3 match-up zone defense. The strategy mostly kept the basketball out of the paint and forced poor-shooting Huskers to rely on their perimeter game.

“You can't dismiss the fact that you don't have any time,” Yori said. “We didn't do anything to prepare for their zone. We weren't as good against it as we should have been.”

Nebraska shot 37.3 percent from the field and turned the ball over 15 times. The Huskers had just 28 first-half points, the second-lowest halftime total against a Big 12 opponent.

“There were some open holes in (our zone),” A&M coach Gary Blair said, “but they didn't find them quick enough.”

Griffin aggressive

Nebraska's star forward isn't used to drastically altering her style of play to avoid a foul-related disqualification, but senior Kelsey Griffin found herself in that rare situation Saturday.

Griffin, who hasn't fouled out of a game since her junior season, went to the bench with four fouls nearly three minutes into the second half.

She had three fouls in the first half and her fourth came when officials caught the 6-foot-2 forward going over-the-back on a rebound attempt.

Griffin still finished with 15 points, but she played just 26 minutes in a game that her team trailed most of the way.

“I need to be smarter as a senior coming in and playing, knowing my foul trouble,” Griffin said. “But I'm kind of an aggressive player and it's hard to back down a little bit.”

It's just the third time this season that Griffin has been called for four fouls.

Easy wait

Nebraska will play the waiting game now. But for once, the days leading up to the unveiling of the NCAA tournament bracket shouldn't be too stressful.

The Huskers appear to be in position for a No. 1 seed in the Kansas City regional. Their first and second round games are expected to be played in Minneapolis.

And maybe most important for the players, the sting of Saturday's loss will certainly wear off by then.

“I'm still extremely excited with what we've been able to accomplish,” Griffin said. “I know the most exciting part of our year is going to be starting on Monday.”

Connecticut, Tennessee and Stanford are the others expected to earn a top seed Monday.

Odds and ends

Nebraska came into the game shooting 71.3 percent from the free throw line, but the Huskers hit just four of their first 11 foul shots Saturday. They made 52 percent until Dominique Kelly converted her final five attempts. ... Catheryn Redmon tied NU's single-season record for blocks among Husker juniors. She has 60 this year. ... Freshman Lindsey Moore set a career-high with four steals. ... Nebraska has never advanced to the Big 12 tournament championship game.

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