Texas women’s basketball travels to No. 2 Baylor, hosts Oklahoma State

By Riley Zayas

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas women’s basketball has hit a stride at just the right point of the season, as was reflected in this past week in which the Longhorns went on the road and defeated the Big 12’s second-place team, TCU, followed by a key home win over Oklahoma at home Saturday night. Texas head coach Karen Aston said she has been particularly impressed with how physical her team has been getting recently, especially against the Sooners — something that will be important in the final two regular season games this week.

“I thought it was a really good win for our team considering how physical the game was,” Aston said after Saturday’s victory. “I thought we were ready to play when the game started and we made adjustments as the game went along as to what they were giving us.”

Freshman guard Celeste Taylor[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] said the Longhorns are trying to play their best basketball at the most important time of the season: as the postseason approaches.

“I think it’s really exciting for us because we want to peak at the right time, so I think right now we’re doing really well peaking at that moment,” Taylor said. “From here on out, we know what we have to do.”

Finishing the regular season, which ends this week, on a high note is one of those things the Horns will have to do, as they face Baylor on the road at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a game that will be carried on FS1 before welcoming Oklahoma State to the Erwin Center for the season finale at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in a game that will broadcast on the Longhorn Network.

The Bears are as good on the court as they are on paper. The No. 2 team in the nation is just two games away from finishing the conference schedule undefeated. They lead the Big 12 in nearly every stat category, including points per game (83.25), rebounding margin (+13.5), and field goal percentage (.507).

Coming off of a national championship title last March, the Bears are trying to claim a No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament, something that appears to be a very real possibility. Baylor has dominated the conference and pretty much every team that has crossed its path, including the Longhorns, who fell, 64-44, Jan. 31 in Austin in the first meeting between the teams.

One of the keys in their success this season has been forward NaLyssa Smith, a sophomore who leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (60 percent) but was held to just two points and 1-of-5 shooting when the teams met Jan. 31. Smith ranks 12^th in the conference in scoring, with an average of 14.6 points per game.

Smith is part of a trio of talented guards who have driven Baylor to huge victories all season long. After Smith, Te’a Cooper has been the Bears’ highest and most consistent scorer, averaging 13.9 points per game. Racking up the assists and putting her teammates in position for open shots is Didi Richards, who has 51 steals this season.

Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State will be the final home game for Texas seniors Sug Sutton, LaShann Higgs, Jada Underwood and Sohpie Taylor.

Oklahoma State is 6-11 in games against Big 12 opponents, and is tied with West Virginia and Texas Tech for sixth place in the conference standings.

The Cowgirls have dropped three of their last four, including Saturday’s 77-69 loss to Kansas. OSU doesn’t score a lot of points (65.4 per game — next to last among Big 12 teams), but gives up even fewer; their average of 62.8 points allowed per game is third-best in the Big 12, as they are ranked third in the Big 12.

Junior Vivian Gray is Oklahoma State’s sharpshooter and top scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. A WBCA All-Region player last season, the 6-1 forward rarely misses at the line, knocking down 85 percent of her free throw attempts.

Down low, Natasha Mack is one of the league’s best shot blockers, with 92 blocks (3.7 per game) so far this season. Mack also averages a Big 12-leading 12.7 rebounds per game, is shooting 52 percent from the field and is is second among OSU scorers behind Gray with an average of 17.9 points per game.

In addition to honoring the senior class, Texas will retire the jersey of Clarissa Davis, the Most Valuable Player of the 1986 Women’s Final Four.
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