Strong post play powers women’s basketball past Texas Tech, 86-62

By Blanche Schaefer

AUSTIN, Texas — No. 5 Texas got double-digit scoring efforts and strong post play Sunday and cruised past Texas Tech, 86-62, at the Frank Erwin Center. The Longhorns are now 13-0 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play.

Senior center Imani Boyette led all scorers with 24 points and 11 rebounds — her sixth double-double of the season. Junior center Kelsey Lang scored 13 points, and guards senior Empress Davenport and sophomore Ariel Atkins added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

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“My teammates are passing me the ball in good positions, and (head coach Karen Aston) tells me if I have a good shot to take it,” Boyette said. “We have a plan for us to attack whenever we have the ball. Enough players developed individually that we can score when we want to.”

Aston said the looming presence of post players Lang and Boyette helped the Longhorns on both sides of the ball. In addition to their 37 combined points, the two centers hauled down 19 rebounds.

“Our bigs were a huge presence tonight and were probably the difference in the game,” Aston said. “(Boyette and Lang) were terrific together at West Virginia. Both of them have improved on their one-on-one defense. They have a better mindset about it, and I feel very comfortable with them playing together.”

The Longhorns struck first, with a Boyette layup, and dominated throughout the first half, taking an early 9-0 lead. Freshman guard Japreece Dean put the Red Raiders on the board with a jumper 5:27 into the first quarter. Dean led Texas Tech with 21 points.

“Japreece [Dean] had a really good night, and their guards are just hard to guard,” Aston said. “I give Tech a lot of credit for how difficult they were to defend.”

The Longhorns closed the first quarter up 17-12 and extended their lead in the second quarter with consecutive layups by junior guard Brianna Taylor and Lang. An 8-2 Tech run, including a three-pointer by sophomore forward Brielle Blaire, pulled the Red Raiders within two at 24-22. Lang responded by scoring six of Texas’ 12 points before halftime, including a buzzer-beater jump shot to put the Longhorns up 36-29 at halftime.

“(Lang) has more finesse and is a better shooter than I am,” Boyette said. “So if she shoots and misses, I can get the rebound, and if I’m inside banging, then I can kick it out to her.”

The two teams battled throughout the third quarter, trading buckets until Texas pulled away after outscoring Tech 23-16 in the quarter. The slow quarter forced the Longhorns to make changes heading into the final period.

“We weren’t doing what we needed to do defensively, but we made a change,” Aston said. “We had some trouble with our on-ball defense — (Texas Tech) got hot on us, and we had to change some things.”

But the Red Raiders opened the fourth quarter with 7-0 run, and Aston was forced to call a timeout. Texas regained command with its own 7-0 scoring drive, claiming the win 86-62.

The Longhorns outshot the Red Raiders from the field 47 percent to 36 percent, respectively. Texas Tech controlled the court behind the arc, shooting 35 percent compared to Texas’ 28 percent.

Texas next faces Iowa State in Austin at 7 p.m. Wednesday. As the Longhorns try to maintain their unblemished record, they can rely on the experience of veteran players who have been down that road last season.

“We have enough players to know what it takes to win in the Big 12 that we are able to help the young ones,” Lang said. “We have good team chemistry, and it’s just working for us. I hope it continues to work.”

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