No. 4 women’s basketball dominates Oklahoma State, 78-48
By Blanche Schaefer
STILLWATER, Okla. — The No.4 women’s basketball team remained undefeated (15-0 overall, 4-0 against Big 12 opponents), rolling past Oklahoma State, 78-48, Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla. Texas is the only Big 12 team to start the season undefeated through four conference games.
Senior center Imani Boyette led the Longhorns with her fourth consecutive double-double, totaling 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Jordan Hosey also scored a career-high 12 points, hitting all four field goals and all four free throws she attempted.
The Longhorns dominated the first half, racing to a 43-13 halftime lead, thanks to a 13-2 run to start the game and a 9-0 run to open the second quarter. The Texas defense held Oklahoma State to only 16 percent field goal efficiency in the first half.
"This is by far the best performance we've had, from start to finish," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "There were so many contributions from people, specifically in the first half when we got the big lead. Everybody came in and did (her) job, and it was fun to watch."
After a couple of layups by Boyette midway through the third quarter, the Cowgirls responded with an 8-2 run, but to no avail — they still trailed by 30 points, 51-21. The Longhorns led by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter, despite Oklahoma State outscoring Texas, 22-15, in the fourth. Freshman guard Lashann Higgs sealed the 78-48 win on a fast-break layup with just under a minute to play.
“(Oklahoma State) is a tough match-up for us because they can physically match up with us in the paint,” Aston said. “We had a really great team game.”
Texas outscored Oklahoma State 32-16 in the paint, and held the Cowgirls to 28 percent field goal efficiency on the night, compared to UT's 53 percent mark.
Texas now travels to take on Kansas in Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The Longhorns return home Jan. 17 to play Baylor at 2:30 p.m. in one of the biggest conference match-ups so far.
