No. 6 Baylor serves No. 4 Longhorns first loss of the season

By Blanche Schaefer

AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 4 University of Texas women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Sunday, falling, 80-67, to Baylor before a crowd of 8,996 at the Frank Erwin Center.

But despite the first blemish on a previously perfect season record, senior guard Empress Davenport said the loss, while disappointing, amounts to [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]little more than a lesson from which the Longhorns can learn.

“We just take it one game at a time,” Davenport said. “This game is just another game to us and to the coaching staff. We don’t think of it as big or small … We have to adjust as a team and keep rolling.”

The series against Baylor has turned into a big rivalry for the Longhorns, with the Bears winning the last 12 consecutive meetings. Texas hasn’t defeated Baylor since 2010.

Sophomore guard Brooke McCarty led the Longhorn offense with 16 points, and senior center Imani Boyette put up her ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

Baylor controlled most of the game. The Longhorns jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a three-pointer by McCarty and a layup by Boyette. The teams traded points in the first quarter until a 16-16 tie at the 2:51 mark. Baylor took control after that, riding a 12-4 run to claim a 26-20 lead at the end of the quarter.

“(Baylor) did some things that challenged us in a way we haven’t been challenged in a while,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “We did some uncharacteristic things, like foul repeatedly. We couldn’t get a grip on how the officiating was going in the first half. It got us so out of sync that we weren’t able to execute offensively.”

Foul trouble disrupted UT’s first-quarter rhythm. Guards McCarty and Celina Rodrigo saw limited playing time after picking up two and three personal fouls, respectively, by the end of the first quarter.

“The inexperienced (players) had to be put in positions they’ve never been in, or at least haven’t been in very frequently,” Aston said. “We needed to weather that better than we did. I just couldn’t get them to slow down. They were still trying to do some things that you would do maybe against a lesser opponent.”

The Bears outscored the Longhorns, 15-9, in the second quarter, and Texas faced a 12-point deficit (41-29) at halftime, with five of UT’s nine points in the period coming from guard Tasia Foman. Turnovers plagued the Longhorns throughout the half. They turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, resulting in 18 points for the Bears.

“We had too many turnovers in the first half,” Aston said. “I just didn’t think we rebounded the ball the way that we have been, and (Baylor) had something to do with that — their pursuit of the ball was better than ours.”

The Texas defense couldn’t contain Baylor redshirt junior guard Alexis Jones, who scored 29 points — 16 of them in the first half. Jones said the rivalry between the two teams helped fuel her performance and inject energy into the Baylor players.

“It was the coaches telling us how big this game was and how big of a rivalry it was,” Jones said of her offensive performance. “It wasn’t just me — the team had an outstanding game. Everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, and what we practiced.”

The scoring evened out in the third quarter, but Baylor’s lead increased to 19 points with 3:27 to go in the quarter. Free throws from Texas junior center Kelsey Lang and Boyette trimmed the deficit to 58-42. McCarty hit a three-pointer from the left corner, bringing the fans to their feet and filling the Frank Erwin Center with a deafening roar. Davenport followed with a layup and free throw, and suddenly Texas was within 10, at 58-48 with 1:18 until the fourth quarter. UT’s 9-2 run closed the gap to 60-48 heading into the final period.

The Longhorns used a 13-4 run in the fourth to pull the score to 72-65 with 1:14 remaining but ran out of time to complete the comeback, as Baylor converted a slew of free throws down the stretch.

While disappointed with the loss, Aston said the game was an event worthy of two top-10 teams … adding that some of the credit belonged to UT’s opponents.

“The electricity in the arena and the support that the city of Austin and the community gave to our team today was absolutely phenomenal,” Aston said. “I haven’t seen that kind of electricity in the Erwin Center at a women’s game in years — credit to not only our team, but to Baylor and the excitement of the game.”

Texas will return to the drawing board this week before facing TCU at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Fort Worth. The Longhorns then face rival Oklahoma in Austin at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“At the end of the day, it’s just another game,” Boyette said. “We are going to come back into work tomorrow and get ready for TCU.”

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