The Texas A&M women's basketball team is headed to Kansas City, but the Aggies are so hot right now that they're dreaming of warmer destinations.

The 17th-ranked Aggie women put an exclamation point on the regular season with a 73-59 victory over the 11th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Thursday at Reed Arena before an announced crowd of 5,043.

A&M will head to Kansas City for next week's Big 12 tournament as the league's hottest team, having won 10 of its last 11.

The lone loss was 68-56 at Oklahoma on Feb. 2 when OU rallied from a six-point halftime deficit. This time A&M never trailed. The Aggies rolled to a 64-38 lead before poor free-throw shooting helped the Sooners make the final score respectable.

"I wasn't pleased with how the game ended," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "But we had a 20- to 25-point lead. We were excited. We're ready to go to Kansas City."

The sizzling finish earned the Aggies (23-7, 11-5 Big 12) a first-round bye in the league tournament, but A&M had to settle for the the No. 4 seed because Oklahoma State (23-6, 11-5) upset Baylor 72-68 in Thursday's other Big 12 game.

Oklahoma State's victory gave Kansas State (21-8, 13-3) the outright title with Baylor (24-5, 12-4) taking the No. 2 seed and OSU the No. 3 seed.

Oklahoma (21-7, 11-5) slipped to fifth. If the Sooners can beat No. 12 seed Missouri on Tuesday, they would play the Aggies again at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"I want to go to Kansas City and stay awhile," Blair said. "Last time, we didn't last long enough."

OU beat A&M 86-65 four years ago in the opening round at Kansas City. That was Blair's first season at A&M, and that team's freshman class was honored before Thursday night's game as the most successful seniors in school history. The group is 87-38 overall and helping A&M make a case for being the Big 12's highest seeded team for the upcoming NCAA Tournament with the championship set for Tampa, Fla.

A&M has recovered from a 1-4 league start to beat three straight Top 25 teams -- No. 19 OSU, No. 8 Baylor and OU, which was ranked 10th by the coaches.

"This really helped our NCAA seed by beating two Top 10 teams," Blair said.

A&M has been doing more than just winning. Over their last 10 victories, the Aggies are beating teams by an average of 13.4 points, and they've held their last four opponents to either that school's season low or second-lowest total for points this season.

A&M has been doing more than just winning. Over their last 10 victories, the Aggies are beating teams by an average of 13.4 points, and they've held their last four opponents to either that school's season low or second-lowest total for points this season.

"I just love my kids right now," Blair said. "We're working hard right now."

Especially on defense, which Oklahoma found out as it shot only 34.3 percent from the field.

"It was just a very, very good defensive effort," Blair said.

OU All-American Courtney Paris had 27 points and 11 rebounds for her 89th consecutive double-double, but she wasn't a factor.

OU 3-point specialist Jenna Plumley was only 3 of 14 beyond the arc for 11 points. The other Sooners combined for just 21 points on 8-of-33 shooting.

"We just needed to make some shots," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "They do a great job of pressuring the basketball."

A&M's offense was led by its junior guards, Danielle Gant and Takia Starks.

Gant, who is from Oklahoma City, scored 21 points on her 21st birthday.

Gant diced through the Sooners and finished 9 of 15 from the field. She added a game-high 12 rebounds as A&M outrebounded the Sooners 48-42.

She also helped apply pressure the Sooners as they crossed midcourt, making it tougher for OU to get the ball inside to the 6-foot-4 Paris.

Starks added 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and 8 of 11 from the line.

A&M started its three seniors, but Gant scored 10 in the first 6 minutes for a 16-5 A&M lead. The Sooners bounced back behind Paris to pull within 20-17.

Starks came off the bench to score 11 in the first half to help A&M to a 33-26 lead.

A&M opened the second half with a 12-3 run with Gant surprisingly playing the point for senior A'Quonesia Franklin, who took a spill and was cramping.

NOTES -- A&M's three seniors combined for 23 points. Morenike Atunrase scored her 10 points in the second half. Patrice Reado had eight points and five rebounds and Franklin added five points and four assists. "I don't think of it as our last game," Atunrase said. "We have a lot more games. This just gives us momentum heading into the tournament." ... OU played without Oklahoma reserve guard Nyeshia Stevenson who injured her right knee in practice Wednesday. She is averaging 7.3 points and 18.3 minutes per game. X-rays were unable to tell if she had torn her anterior cruciate ligament, and an MRI was planned for Friday. ... A&M and OU were co-champions last season.