Undefeated women’s basketball takes down No. 9 Mississippi State, 53-47

By Blanche Schaefer

The No. 6 Texas women’s basketball team ground out its second consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent, defeating No. 9 Mississippi State 53-47 on Wednesday night.

“(The Bulldogs) were a physical basketball team,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “It was obvious that both teams were pretty concentrated on defense tonight, because it was an ugly offensive game.”

The teams combined for [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]42 turnovers and 54 personal fouls. Points were difficult to come by, as Texas shot 39 percent from the field, while Mississippi State shot 31 percent.

Despite the physical Mississippi State defense, senior Texas center Imani Boyette led all scorers with 21 points. She added 10 rebounds to complete her third double-double of the season and blocked a pair of MSU shots. Mississippi State sophomore guard Victoria Vivians finished with a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds.

“We needed [Boyette] tonight, because we just couldn’t seem to get any flow going with any of our guards,” Aston said. “She’s trying to make her mindset more offensive-minded. She knew she had somewhat of an advantage tonight, either by experience or height.”

Junior guard Brianna Taylor also provided an offensive spark. She finished with nine points and four rebounds. Taylor shot 4-for-4 from the field, including the first three-pointer of the night in the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before falling victim to the foul bug. Sophomore guard Brooke McCarty and freshman guard Lashann Higgs committed consecutive fouls, and Taylor fouled twice in less than a minute. UT recovered with scores by McCarty and Boyette in the last 45 seconds to close the quarter with an 18-9 lead.

“I’m trying to take more shots and put my team in position,” Boyette said. “It was pretty painful — (the Bulldogs) are very strong. I do what I’ve got to do, and we were prepared for it. I think we handled it well.”

Both teams hit a rut in the second quarter. Boyette scored six of UT’s eight points, and four came from the free-throw line. The Longhorns couldn’t capitalize on free throws or open looks, and missed nine shots in the second quarter and entered halftime with a slim 26-21 lead.

“There were some times we left some shots on the table,” Aston said. “We missed some open layups and some free throws that really could have separated us.”

The Longhorns extended their lead in the third quarter, thanks in part to eight points by Boyette. The only three-pointers of the game happened in the fourth quarter. Taylor hit a three-pointer at the 7:30 mark for the first score of the quarter, as each team hit twice from long range in the final period, before Boyette sank two free throws to seal the Longhorns’ win at 53-47.

“We have been working on (shooting three-pointers) in practice and shoot-around,” Taylor said. “I feel more comfortable shooting that shot this year than last year.”

Aston said the physicality of the game resembled a football game more than a basketball game.

“(The Bulldogs) are hard to guard because they penetrate,” Aston said. “We had a couple individuals in particular, Empress (Davenport) and Tasia (Foman), that really did a good job defensively. I thought that everybody else played smart. The times that we didn’t, we fouled. Our discipline was terrific.”

The Longhorns hit the road for a matchup with Little Rock at 2 p.m. Sunday. Texas returns for a two-game homestand against No. 16 Stanford at noon on Dec. 13 and Canisius at 7 p.m. on Dec. 16. Aston said that the Longhorns’ ability to find a way to win while not playing at their best level will be a valuable skill for the team to have as the season progresses.

“(Mississippi State) forced us to be uncomfortable, but we’ll get better at those things,” Aston said. “I don’t want (our players) to feel disappointed that we didn’t play up to standard. This game will make us a much better basketball team.”
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