Fast start has women’s basketball aiming high

By Blanche Schaefer

The Texas women’s basketball team is off to one of its best starts in school history. Since the Longhorns won all 34 games they played in 1985-86, they have won their first nine games of the season just four times.  This season’s team is one of those four, has beaten three top-25 opponents and has climbed to No. 5 in the country. The Longhorns are riding a 23-game win streak over non-conference opponents and most recently earned their 990^th all-time program win when with a 92-62 victory Dec. 16 over Canisius in Austin.

The game was the first matchup between the two teams. Four Longhorns scored in double digits: senior center Imani Boyette scored 15 points, guards sophomore Brooke McCarty and freshman Lashann Higgs each scored 14 points and junior center Kelsey Lang added 10 points. Texas shot a season-high 56 percent from the field, and the defense held Canisius to 37 percent shooting. Boyette also grabbed 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

“(Opposing defenses) have to figure out what they want to give up – the guards, or do they want to give up me?” Boyette said. “I’ve adjusted to my role in that I may not always be scoring, but I need to be occupying people so that everyone else can get shots. I’m just learning to play within the system.”

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]

Although the Longhorns walked away with a win, head coach Karen Aston said there is room for improvement before Texas plays Arkansas this weekend in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. Aston took advantage of the non-conference matchup to test the team’s zone defense as a benchmark for future games.

“A little bit of our concentration and detail was lacking (against Canisius),” Aston said. “On the flip side, we shot the ball pretty well. We made some good decisions but we’ll have to clean some of this up. We have some things to look at with our zone defense that (need) to improve. Now I know where we’re at with (the zone), so we can get better. We’ll have to play better on Sunday against Arkansas.”

The road to 9-0

Texas began the season with wins over UT-San Antonio, Northwestern State, Rice and Hampton, each by at least a 20-point margin. The Longhorns faced their first top-10 challenge with a 64-53 victory at then-No. 4 Tennessee on Nov. 29. Higgs scored a career-high 18 points. Boyette and McCarty also scored double-digits with 11 and 12 points, respectively. The win was a true test of Texas’ road mentality. Aston said that while it wasn’t pretty, the team’s aggressive defense and smart guard play helped the Longhorns earn the win and build confidence on the road.

“It was a bit of a choppy, ugly game, but that typically happens when (Texas and Tennessee) get together,” Aston said after the game. “This wasn’t necessarily about who we were playing, but can we be better on the road. Our guards made good decisions — that gave us a lot of confidence. They made the right decisions, made aggressive plays and got big shots.”

The Longhorns faced another physical test Dec. 2 when they defeated No. 9 Mississippi State, 53-47. The defense-heavy matchup yielded a combined 42 turnovers and 54 personal fouls between the two teams. The Longhorns connected on 39 percent of their shots from the field, and the Bulldogs made only 31 percent. Boyette added her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Aston said the team needed Boyette against Mississippi State because the guards were unable find a rhythm or produce points.

“I’m trying to be more offensive-minded,” Boyette said after the game. “I’m trying to take more shots and put our team in position. We just need a presence.”

The Texas offense needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to overcome a 13-point deficit Dec. 6 against Little Rock and win the game, 66-56. Little Rock scored 11 points and held the Longhorns scoreless in the third quarter to jump to a 48-35 lead. Texas went on to score 31 points in the fourth quarter while holding Little Rock to 8 points. McCarty came through in the fourth quarter and scored 16 points to help secure the win. She finished with a career-high 23 points.

“We have great offensive players at guard,” McCarty said. “We all just have that confidence to shoot the ball, and our coaches have been giving us that confidence all year — it’s really helping out.”

Senior guard Empress Davenport exhibited that confidence Dec. 13 in UT’s 77-69 win over then-No. 14 Stanford. Davenport scored a career-high 23 points as one of three Texas players to score in the double digits. Each team shot 42 percent from the field, but Texas outrebounded Stanford, 44-29. Aston said the difference in the game was the Texas guards’ confidence and energy on the court, in addition to a solid defensive effort.

“Last year, (the guards) were all hesitant,” McCarty said. “We weren’t really scorers — we were just trying to get the open person the ball and give it to other people to shoot. But this year, we know (opposing defenses) can’t just only guard our posts.”

Energy and confidence, along with strong performances from the Texas guards, have been central to the Longhorns’ success all season. UT’s guard-heavy lineup is proving effective — Aston has started guards McCarty, Davenport, Celina Rodrigo, Brianna Taylor and center Boyette five times this season. The four starting guards are combining to average just over 36 points per game. Boyette and McCarty lead the ‘Horns with an average 13 points per game each.

“We have a different sense about us right now,” Aston said after the Stanford game. “Our guards have a confidence about them that I haven’t seen since I have been here. They have a maturity and a confidence.”

What’s next?

Despite the hot start, Aston stressed the importance of staying focused. Last year’s team got off to a 13-0 start before falling to Iowa State, 59-57, three games into conference play. Aston and the players cite inability to stay focused in big games and maintain a consistent level of play as factors to postseason losses last year.

Aston said last season was a learning experience for the players to feel pressure in a big-game atmosphere. The players are continuing to learn and taking every chance they can to build on that experience, especially in nonconference games.

“The way we approached Little Rock, we weren’t very focused, and I think it showed the first three quarters,” Davenport said. “It’s important for us to come out focused every game because we’re trying to accomplish things in preseason and during conference and postseason.”

Conference play begins Dec. 30 against West Virginia, and UT’s strong non-conference performances will be crucial heading into Big 12 games.

“(Non-conference wins) are helping us, but more in a sense of just preparation for Big 12 play,” Aston said. “Every time you play in the Big 12, you are seeing something completely different than what you saw the game before, because there are such different styles of play in our league.”

The Longhorns have two games left before Big 12 play begins. Texas plays Arkansas at 1:30 p.m., Dec. 20 in Oklahoma City, Okla., in the Big 12-SEC Challenge and then returns from the winter break to play Sam Houston State in Austin at 2 p.m. Dec. 27.

Aston said she believes her team has improved enough to make an even deeper run in March than its Sweet 16 finish last season. The Longhorns want more this year, and Aston said she knows her team is capable of going all the way.

“I don’t say that to put any kind of pressure on (the players), but I have been (coaching) long enough to know what a team looks like that has capabilities of winning championships,” Aston said. “We look like a team right now that has capabilities of doing that.”

[/s2If]

[s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]

[article-offer]

[/s2If]