The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team took the court in Austin in hopes of ending their two-game losing streak as they welcomed West Virginia to the Frank Erwin Center. In their last matchup, Texas dropped that game in Morgantown 68-63.
The Longhorns came out firing with a 13-2 run over the first seven minutes of the game. Charli Collier got it started with five points early on. The Longhorns came out on fire after being embarrassed over the weekend in Lawrence, Kansas. Collier scored seven and Audrey Warren followed up with six as they closed the first with a 11-point lead.
Things were rough for the Longhorns in the second as they hit just two of their 18 shots when they were poised to put the Mountaineers away early on in this game after a big first quarter. Texas went into the half with a 25-18 lead despite scoring just four points. All four came from senior guard Sug Sutton. The relentless effort on defense allowed just eight points to keep their lead intact.
First Half Stats
- 9-31 Shooting (29%)
- 1-5 from three (20%)
- 6-8 from free throw line
- 22 rebounds
- four assists
- four steals
- two blocks
- never trailed
Jada Underwood came out in the third quarter to get Texas back into a scoring groove hitting a three following a Joyner Homes block on the defensive end. Texas hit their first two shots to pass their total output in the second. A 9-1 run in the first five minutes built the lead up to 15. West Virginia make a late push at the tail end of the quarter outscoring Texas 10-6 to get it back within 11 as the they headed to the fourth.
The Mountaineers came out in the final quarter and closed the gap to just five points midway through the fourth, 44-39 thanks to a 8-2 run. Despite just 12 combined points in the second and fourth quarters, the Longhorns held onto a 50-44 victory over West Virginia. Collier posted her 13th double-double on the year to lead the Longhorns to victory. She didn’t have a single one during her freshman season.
Despite WVU’s Kari Niblack and her 16-point performance, Texas was able to withstand a late run by the Mountaineers. Collier finished with a team-high 11 points and 15 rebounds, including four on the offensive boards. Texas finished shooting 36.4 percent from the floor. The Longhorns improved to 16-9 overall and 8-5 in conference play.