The OU women’s basketball team saw how vital young shooter Whitney Hand was after swallowing its first Big 12 loss to No. 11 Texas A&M 57-56 Monday night in College Station, Texas.

OU looked as if it would be just fine without Hand, the standout freshman guard who is out for four weeks with a fractured finger, but in the end came up just short.

The Sooners capitalized on the Aggies’ early turnovers and jumped out to a quick 20-15 lead.

Senior center Courtney Paris took charge for the Sooners early by taking high-percentage shots and fighting down under the basket. As a team, the Sooners shot 60 percent in the first half.

Texas A&M was not easily outdone at home, however, and the Aggies made a charge toward the end of the first half to tie the game at 24 with fewer than four minutes to go.

The Sooners made their own mistakes, like not taking care of the ball and letting the Aggies’ defense get the best of them. OU committed 14 turnovers in the first half.

The back-and-forth continued through the end of the first half when the Sooners junior guard Nyeshia Stevenson hit a 3-pointer to put the Sooners up 33-28.

The Sooners came out of the locker room and quickly grabbed a 42-28 lead on the Aggies to push the lead to 14.

As quickly as the Sooners got hot, however, the tables turned when Texas A&M went on an 8-0 run within the first five minutes of the second half.

OU had its opportunities, but struggled to find the bottom of the net.

What hurt the Sooners more than anything were mental errors and too many turnovers. Recently, the OU women’s basketball team has been known for high turnover rates, and in this game OU shot itself in the foot by turning the ball over.

Texas A&M built up a 7-point lead over the Sooners after OU missed its last nine shots and looked like it was headed for certain defeat.

The second half of the game continued in the back and forth style, but OU regrouped and went on its own 8-0 run to regain the lead.

The game flowed between the two teams as the battle wound down and, with six seconds left, Texas A&M put down the winning layup.

OU finished with a season high 29 turnovers, an Achilles heel throughout the game.

Sophomore guard Danielle Robinson led scoring for OU and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Stevenson, filling in for the injured Hand, added 12 points to the Sooner offense.

Monday was OU’s first loss in the Big 12 and its first since being stomped by Connecticut in November. OU had previously been on a 20-game winning streak, the longest in OU history.

The Sooners’ next game is against Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.