Texas puts up 2-1 run heading into regular season finale against Oklahoma State

Since their tough, close loss on the road against rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns have gone 2-1 including back-to-back wins against TCU at home and against Texas Tech on the road. Texas will face Oklahoma State in its regular season game on Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m at home.

Following the Longhorns loss to Oklahoma, Texas traveled to Ames to face No. 23 Iowa State. The game was close until the Cyclones pulled away late in the second half after a 51-51 tie with seven minutes left. Iowa State outscored the Longhorns 30-13 in the last part of the second half to claim the victory.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

Sophomore Imani McGee-Stafford scored a career-high 26 points and finished with four assists and eight rebounds and senior Chassidy Fussell also led the Longhorns with 15 points and seven rebounds.

At the beginning of the game, both teams traded hot streaks. The Longhorns began with a 7-0 run and 3-for-3 shooting before Iowa State posted a 12-0 run. The Longhorns were not able to recapture the lead before the half, going into the locker room down by two with a score of 28-26.

The Longhorns were able to pull ahead in the second half thanks to shots by Fussell and freshman Brianna Taylor. The Longhorns led by as many as four before the Cyclones came back, evening the score and then taking the lead. Iowa State stretched its lead to 17 points with less than two minutes in the game, winning 81-64.

After two straight road losses, the Longhorns came back to the Erwin Center and defeated TCU 62-50 thanks to a second half rally.

McGee-Stafford led the Longhorns for the second game in a row with 17 rebounds and 12 points, her fourth double-double of the season. She added three blocks against the Horned Frogs. Junior Nneka Enemkpali also contributed to the win with several well-time shots finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.

The score was kept close throughout the first half, including four lead changes. The Horned Frogs owned the largest lead of the half, leading by 9 points partway through the first half. The Longhorns came back with a couple of baskets, but TCU held the lead at 33-26 going into the locker room.

Off a basket by Enemkpali and Brady Sanders, the Longhorns opened up half on fire before TCU widened their lead. A long range shot by junior Krystie Henderson gave the Longhorns their first lead since the first half. The Longhorns then used a 13-0 run to take their lead to 43-37 with under 10 minutes to go. Texas went on to win 62-50, never again relinquishing the lead.

The win over TCU clinched a first-round bye int he Big 12 Championship which will be help March 7-10 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

“As a player, having a lower than .500 record is horrible and last year was really, really hard,” said McGee-Stafford. “I think everyone came into this year expecting it to be better, and we put int he work for it to be better. So we’ve come this far, and we’re not trying to give it up.”

In their final road game of the regular season, the Longhorns defeated Texas Tech 67-64 in Lubbock. Texas was led by Enemkpali with 19 points and nine rebounds, McGee-Stafford with 18 points and Sanders with 17 points.

Enemkpali scored the fist basket of the game setting up the Longhorns for an early lead. Texas kept a slim one point lead throughout the first part of the game before Texas Tech took a 14-10 lead with just under 10 minutes until half time. Texas came back and tied the game at 16 with 7:30 left.

In the second half, the Longhorns pulled away with a 14-5 run in the first five minutes thanks to two 3-pointers by Sanders. The Red Raiders kept charging forward, chipping away at the Longhorns’ lead but unable to tie the game again. Texas lead by as many as 10 points, but Texas Tech came to within one before Enemkpali converted two free throws to give the Longhorns a five point cushion and the win.

Texas will face Oklahoma State in its final home game on March 3 at home at 7 p.m. The Longhorns will then travel to Oklahoma City to compete in the Big 12 Basketball Championship tournament.

“I’m really, really proud of this basketball team,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said following the Longhorns’ win over TCU.
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