Women’s basketball season ends with Elite Eight loss to Connecticut

By Blanche Schaefer

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas players don’t remember much about playing Connecticut in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year.

“I remember losing,” senior center Imani Boyette said of the 2015 matchup. “That’s pretty much it.”

The Longhorns were reminded of the feeling again as their historic season came to an end in familiar fashion Monday night. No. 1-ranked Connecticut defeated Texas, 86-65, in the Bridgeport Regional Quarterfinals Elite Eight.

The Longhorns, who were seeded second in the Sioux Falls bracket, stayed with the Huskies [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]in the first half. After digging themselves a 17-6 hole early in the first quarter, the ‘Horns fought back with an 11-2 run, thanks to three consecutive three-pointers from sophomore guards Ariel Atkins — who averaged a team-high 18.0 points in UT’s four NCAA games this season — and Brooke McCarty. Texas trailed, 22-17, at the end of the first period.

The Longhorns kept the deficit to five points until about halfway through the second quarter when the Huskies began to put some distance between themselves and the ‘Horns. A three-pointer at the 5:06 mark by first-team All-America Breanna Stewart started the 16-6 Connecticut run. The 6-foot-4-inch senior forward finished the night with 21 points and 13 boards to go along with senior forward Morgan Tuck’s 22-point night. Texas struggled to maintain control of the ball, commiting four of its seven first-half turnovers in the final five minutes of the second quarter. The Huskies led, 46-31, at the half.

Texas trailed by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter. A 12-2 run — including three consecutive three-pointers from McCarty, senior guard Empress Davenport, and Atkins — reduced the deficit to 54-42. The Huskies went on a 7-2 run which included another three-pointer from Stewart to help carry a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter as the Texas shooters struggled to score.

Freshman guard Lashann Higgs scored eight points in the fourth period and McCarty drained two threes, but the Huskies’ lead was too much for Texas to overcome. Higgs and Atkins led the offense with 19 points apiece, while McCarty scored 15 in UT’s fifth and final loss of the season.

Texas finished the season with a 31-5 record, the most wins since the 1987-88 season. UT has room to grow toward its goal of a national championship after ending the season in the Sweet Sixteen last year and the Elite Eight this year.

Texas head coach Karen Aston said after the game that she feels the Longhorns have come a long way in a year, despite a similar end to the season.

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of our basketball team,” Aston said. “It’s a tough night for us — lots of seniors, lots of tears, lots of people that didn’t want it to end. It’s a significantly different looking team and different locker room than it was last year (when) we played our last game.”

The Longhorns outrebounded their opponents, 34-29, marking the 30th game this season in which they have had as many or more rebounds as their opponents.

Among the Texas seniors who played for the last time as a collegiate player Monday was center Imani Boyette, who left her name all over the UT record book as her college career came to an end. She finished her career second in school history with 303 blocked shots, fifth in UT history with 1,036 career rebounds and 22nd on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,361 points. Her 104 blocked shots this season were the second-highest single-season total in school history.

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