Sophomore leads women’s basketball past TCU on Senior Night

By Blanche Schaefer

AUSTIN, Texas — The four Texas seniors walked onto the court, family members by their sides, for the Senior Night ceremony before the Longhorns’ last regular-season home game at the Frank Erwin Center. Guards Empress Davenport, Celina Rodrigo, Brady Sanders and center Imani Boyette also walked onto the court as 80 percent of the starting lineup and walked away with a final home win under their belts when No. 8 Texas took down TCU, 71-58, on a special Saturday night for the Longhorns.

But it wasn’t a senior who provided the spark Texas needed. Sophomore guard Brooke McCarty — the fifth starter – finished with a game-high 16 points, 12 of which came from behind the three-point line, and eight assists. Boyette added 12 points and nine rebounds and credited much of UT’s win to McCarty’s performance.

“Brooke (McCarty) is a[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] lion in a mouse’s body,” Boyette said. “She can score from anywhere on the floor, she’s really quick and she’s going to get after it. She thinks she’s a big player out there, so she’s going to play like it.”

The Longhorns struggled yet again to get started. Nine of TCU’s 13 first-quarter points came from behind the arc, but Texas responded as sophomore guard Ariel Atkins scored four straight points and McCarty drilled her first three. The Longhorns and Horned Frogs finished the period knotted in a 13-13 tie.

Texas head coach Karen Aston attributed the first quarter funk to the pressure and excitement of Senior Night for the players.

“It was kind of a strange game, because I didn’t think anybody could get in any flow, in particular offensively,” Aston said. “We seemed anxious at the beginning of the game and understandably so. (Senior Night) throws you off a little bit and not in a bad way, but it makes you anxious. (The Texas seniors) were super-excited. Sometimes when this team gets really excited and happy, they’re not as locked in to execution.”

The Longhorns started to settle down in the second quarter. A jumper from Atkins put Texas ahead to start the period, but the Horned Frogs matched UT offense, bucket-for-bucket. McCarty gave Texas some distance and forced a TCU timeout with a three from the right corner, followed immediately by a steal that she took the other way for a fast-break layup to put the Longhorns up, 26-20. Texas closed the quarter on a 10-2 run and sprinted off the court for halftime in a high-fiving frenzy with a 36-27 lead.

The Horned Frogs threatened in the third quarter after a 9-2 run pulled them within four at 41-45. A layup by junior center Kelsey Lang and back-to-back McCarty three-pointers pushed Texas ahead to a 12-point cushion. UT rolled from there, leading by at least 11 points for the rest of the game. A free throw by junior guard Brianna Taylor tacked on the extra point and finalized the 71-58 UT victory.

“It was a fun game,” Boyette said. “It was awesome to see everybody get involved, and we had our family here. For the out-of-state kids, it’s great to have people come and see you at home — it gives us some momentum going into Monday’s game.”

Texas doesn’t have time to revel in the victory with No. 4 Baylor looming in the final game of the regular season Monday and a share of a conference title on the line. Aston said the short amount of turnaround time is helpful in preparing the team for the postseason, and the lessons learned in playing through anxiety and excitement on Senior Night will carry over to the big stage in Waco. For the players, defeating the Bears is just another goal on their list.

“(Beating Baylor) would mean a lot to us, especially for the senior class,” Rodrigo said. “This is one of our goals from the get go. If we are able to go out and do that, we would be extremely happy to accomplish one of our goals.”

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