The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
11-5, 2-2
West Virginia *
14-2, 3-1
Women's Basketball falls to West Virginia in overtime, 56-49
01.12.2014 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns edged by West Virginia in UT's second consecutive overtime game.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The University of Texas women's basketball team fell to West Virginia in overtime, 56-49, on Sunday at the WVU Coliseum.
Texas (11-5, 2-2) finished with two players in double-figures, led by sophomore Imani McGee-Stafford with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 31 minutes. Junior Nneka Enemkpali chipped in 10 points for the Longhorns and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes.
West Virginia (14-2, 3-1) started the game on a 5-0 run which was answered by 11 unanswered points from Texas to give the Longhorns an 11-5 advantage at the 13:03 mark. Both teams traded baskets for the remaining seven minutes of the first half as Texas entered the locker room with a one point lead, 21-20.
Texas shot 44.4 percent (8-18 FG) in the first half but was unable to pull away due to 12 first-half turnovers. The Longhorns held West Virginia to 19.4 percent shooting (6-31 FG) in 33 first half WVU possessions.
McGee-Stafford opened the second half with six consecutive layups to increase Texas' lead to seven, 27-20. West Virginia cut Texas' lead to three, 31-28 behind two 3-pointers by Christal Caldwell, but two subsequent three's by sophomore Brady Sanders and junior GiGi Mazionyte gave Texas their largest lead of the day, 37-28 with 12:37 remaining in regulation.
West Virginia cut Texas' lead to five three times over the next nine minutes. The Mountaineers were unable to close the gap until Taylor Palmer hit a 3-pointer at the 1:20 mark, which cut Texas' lead to two points, 48-46. WVU's Averee Fields connected on a layup to tie the game 48-all with 14 seconds left in regulation. Texas was unable to score on their final possession, sending the game into overtime.
West Virginia scored five straight to open up the extra period and held Texas scoreless until the 1:18 mark off a free throw by sophomore Empress Davenport. The Mountaineers converted their final two free-throws to seal the win, 56-49.
Texas finished the game with a 35.4 shooting percentage (17-48 FG), while holding WVU to 26.5 percent shooing (18-68 FG). The Longhorns out-rebounded the Mountaineers 49-to-45, but allowed West Virginia 22 offensive rebounds for 14 second-chance points.
Texas returns home to face Kansas on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network.
TEAM NOTES
• Series: West Virginia leads, 3-1. Sunday marked the first overtime game between WVU and Texas.
• Starters: Sophomore Empress Davenport, sophomore Celina Rodrigo, sophomore Brady Sanders, junior Nneka Enemkpali, sophomore Imani McGee-Stafford. This is the fourth time this season and third straight game this starting lineup has been used. The Longhorns are 3-1 with the lineup.
• In the first half, Texas held West Virginia to 19.4 percent shooting (6-31 FG), which is the lowest single half shooting percentage of a Texas opponent in conference play this season. It is the lowest single half shooting percentage for a Texas opponent since the Longhorns forced the University of Little Rock-Arkansas to shoot 16.7 percent (4-24 FG) on Dec. 4, 2013.
• Texas held West Virginia to 26.5 percent shooting (18-for-68) for the game. This is the lowest field goal shooting percentage of a Texas opponent in conference play this season, and the lowest since Texas held the University of Little Rock-Arkansas to 19.2 percent shooting (10-for-52).
• Texas out-rebounded the Mountaineers 49 to 45. This is the third time this season Texas has out-rebounded their opponent in a loss. Previously, Texas out-rebounded Stanford 55-40 and Syracuse 42-36, each of which ended in a loss.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Imani McGee-Stafford
• Scored 13 points (6-9 FG) with six rebounds in 31 minutes. Has scored double-figures in each of the last four games for an average of 12.0 points per game.
Empress Davenport
• Grabbed seven rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Has four or more rebounds in each of the last three games and has four-plus rebounds in ten total games this season.
Nneka Enemkpali
• Scored 10 points (3-6 FG) with a a game-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes.
Celina Rodrigo
• Grabbed eight rebounds with five assists in a season-high 33 minutes.
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