Texas Women’s Basketball advance to Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Semifinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 7/9 Texas Women’s Basketball win over Kansas State 72-65 moves them up to the semifinals in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Senior Lauren Ebo recorded her fourth double-double and dominated on both ends of the court. Ebo scored a season high 17 points for the second time in the last two games. Ebo also pulled down 10 rebounds (6 def., 4 off.), hit five of seven (71.4%) from the field and seven of eight (87.5%) free throws.
Coach Schaefer said of Ebo after the game, “Lauren, she's probably the most improved player on my team, especially in the last month and a half. She handles her business.”
Four Longhorns scored double digits. Freshman Rori Harmon scored 16 the hard way. Harmon shot the ball 14 times from the field making five (35.7%), made one three pointer, and hit five of six (83.3%) of her free throws.
Rori Harmon majors in Applied Movement Science at the University of Texas. It seems Harmon applies what she learns in the classroom to basketball.
Harmon took a total of 20 shots. With the exception of her free throws, Harmon did not shoot very well, yet she was the second leading scorer on the court. Harmon teaches us a great life lesson. Never give up, persist, be relentless, and just keep shooting the basketball.
Junior Aliyah Matharu, from Washington D.C., scored 15 points. Matharu took seven shots and made five, all three pointers, plus yanked down four rebounds and three steals.
Senior Joanne Allen-Taylor contributed 12 points, two assists, and two rebounds.
From a statistical standpoint, Texas did not have their best game, yet the team’s depth (19 points from bench and 11 second chance points) and their relentless basketball play allowed them to prevail over a well coached Kansas State. Texas shot 39% from the field and had 19 turnovers compared to Kansas State’s 51% from the field (32 points in the paint) and 10 turnovers.
At the postgame press conference Schaefer said, “One thing about my team this year that has been really consistent is that when we have been on the road, they’ve been locked in. They’ve really had good focus.”
The No. 3 seed Texas Longhorns increase their winning streak to nine and will face No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones on Mar. 12th at 2:30 p.m.
The two teams last faced each other on Feb. 16, 2022 and Texas won 73-48, however, overall Texas holds only a slight lead (24-21) against Iowa State and are 9-10 when Texas plays them away.
You can watch the game on EPSN+ from Kansas City, Missouri with a 2:30 p.m. start.
