The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
21-11, 7-9
Baylor (Quarterfinals)
24-6, 12-4
Women's Basketball stuns No. 8 Baylor, 76-61, overcoming 16-point deficit in second half
03.12.2008 | Women's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Carla Cortijo scored a career-high 24 points and Texas overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 8 Baylor 76-61 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 women's tournament.
The 16-point halftime deficit that Texas overcame was the largest deficit ever overcome in the history of Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship action.
The loss by second-seeded Baylor (24-6) continued one of the most unpredictable tournaments in the history of the Big 12, with top-seeded Kansas State losing to eighth-seeded Iowa State earlier in the day and No. 13 Oklahoma losing to the worst team in the Big 12, Missouri, in the opening round on Tuesday.
Baylor had won its opening game of the tournament in each of coach Kim Mulkey's seven seasons at the helm and looked in prime position to advance to the semifinals once again when the Bears led 40-24 at halftime.
But Texas opened the second half on a 19-3 run to tie the game at 43-43 with 10:45 remaining and took its first lead since 12-11 when Cortijo hit a 3-pointer to make it 48-46 with just under nine minutes left.
The Longhorns never trailed again, extending the lead to 66-54 with just over two minutes left in the game before reaching the final 15-point margin.
Texas (21-11), which had as many field goals as it did blocks in the first half with eight, shot only 23 percent in the opening 20 minutes and won despite shooting 38 percent for the game.
All-Big 12 selection Angela Tisdale led the Lady Bears with 23 points. Rachel Allison added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor, which also got 16 points from Jessica Morrow but only six points from the rest of the team.
The Lady Bears used an 11-0 run to take a 36-20 lead shortly before halftime.
Brittainey Raven, the Longhorns leading scorer at 15.5 points per game, battled foul trouble in the first half and finished with only two points at the break.
But she scored 14 in the final 20 minutes, including a short shot with just over 11 minutes remaining that cut the Baylor lead to 43-41.
Ashley Lindsey finished with 15 points and Earnesia Williams had eight points and 13 rebounds for Texas, which will play either third-seeded Oklahoma State or 11th-seeded Kansas on Thursday.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Texas trailed at intermission by 16 (40-$0-24) ... That 16-point deficit was the largest deficit ever overcome by a team in Big 12 women's championship tourney competition, in this the tourney's 12th year
- The win extends the Texas win streak to five games and gives the Longhorns a 21-11 mark as they advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals to face the winner of the No. 3 seed Oklahoma-No. 11 seed Kansas quarterfinal game, played late Wednesday
- this will be the sixth Big 12 Championship semifinal appearance for the Longhorns .... Texas advanced to the semifinals in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005 previously ... Texas is 3-2 in prior semifinal showings, advancing to the title game in 2000, 2004 and 2005 and winning the championship in 2003
- standing 2-0 in tourney play this year, UT's all-time record in Big 12 tourney action is 15-10 (.600) ... The Longhorns earned the 2003 Big 12 Championship and were runnerup twice (2000 and 2004) .. UT advanced to five total semifinals as well (1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005) ... In Big 12 Championship tourney games played at Municipal Auditorium, which has been the host site for eight conference tournaments, is 9-7
- This five-game win streak was the second-longest of the season for Gail Goestenkors' squad ... UT had a 10-game win streak in November and December
- In games played against Top 25 competition this year, Texas stands 6-6 and has won three of its last five games against Top 25 opponents
- Sophomore guard Brittainey Raven (16 points0 notched double-figure scoring for the 11th game in a row and for the 31st time in 32 games to date (a team best)
- Redshirt sophomore point guard Carla Cortijo finished with 24 points, which is a career high ... Her prior career high in scoring was 17, set this year against Missouri State on Nov. 11
- Junior post Ashley Lindsey finished the game with four blocks ... She now has 88 on the season, and has now registered the second-most single season blocks in UT history.. Tonight, she surpassed former 6-9 post Ellen Bayer who had 85 blocks in 1989-90 ... Bayer also holds the single-season mark with 97 rejections in 1988-89
- Texas had six blocks in the opening 6:14 of the game, eight rejections in the first half, and finished with those eight blocks ... The Texas season high for blocks was 11, done twice - against Lamar (Nov. 15) and against Texas-Arlington (Nov. 29)
- Texas stands 10-8 in away/neutral games this year, which is a vast improvement over last year's 5-8 mark in away/neutral site contests ... Texas is 5-7 in away games and 5-1 at neutral sites (at in-season tourneys and Big 12 Championship games)
