On a night devoted to saying goodbye to their seniors, the Longhorns defeated No. 18 Oklahoma State on Monday night in their final regular season game of the season. With the 65-58 victory, Texas claimed the No. 3 seed in this weekend’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship that will take place in Oklahoma City.
The win brought the Longhorns’ home record to 14-2, their best home record since 2004-2005 when they finished 14-1. Texas finished the regular season at 20-10 and 11-7 in the Big 12. The Longhorns honored four seniors on Monday night: Chassidy Fussell, Gigi Mazionyte, Ashley Roberts and Helen Tau.
[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]
“It’s just a really great feeling to get Texas back to where it’s supposed to be,” Fussell said. “a 20-win season, get back to the NCAA tournament, and be on top.”
Sophomore Imani McGee-Stafford once again led the Longhorns with her fifth double-double of the season finishing the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Fussell followed with 15 points.
Oklahoma State came out fast to start the game. The Longhorns trailed until freshman Nekia Jones pulled down seven straight to push the Longhorns ahead 15-10. Towards the end of the first half, Oklahoma State was held scoreless for four minutes as the Longhorns built their lead to 28-13. The Cowgirls went on a run to close out the half but the Longhorns held a 30-21 lead going into the locker room.
The Longhorns never trailed in the second half finishing the game with 11 points at the free throw line. Oklahoma State managed to get within five, but the Longhorns ultimately stretched their lead, leading by as many as 13 points in the second half, before securing the 65-58 win.
“The fact that we’re now finishing third in the league, that’s significant,” said Texas head coach Karen Aston. “We locked up third place – sole possession of third.”
On Saturday, March 8 the Longhorns will face No. 6 seed Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 8:30 pm in the Big 12 Championships quarterfinal round.
[/s2If]
[s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]
Want To Read More…
You’re reading our premium content. It is available to Horns Illustrated Insiders. Become an Insider now.
The rest of this article is available to Digital Subscribers only. Login or Subscribe to continue reading.
[/s2If]
#HookEm
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.