The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-10, 10-7
Texas Tech *
6-22, 0-17
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 28 | 39 | 67 |
| Texas Tech | 27 | 37 | 64 |
Women's Basketball tops Texas Tech in final conference road game, 67-64
03.01.2014 | Women's Basketball
Three Longhorns score in double figures, led by Nneka Enemkpali with 19
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Women's Basketball team defeated Texas Tech 67-64 Saturday afternoon at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. Texas dominated the Lady Raiders on the inside, outrebounding Texas Tech 47-30 in addition to a 38-14 points in the paint differential.
Three different Longhorns scored in double figures for the Longhorns led by junior Nneka Enemkpali with 19 off 8-of-13 shooting to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Imani McGee-Stafford poured in 18 points and sophomore Brady Sanders added a career-high 17 points.
Texas (19-10, 10-7) tallied the first points of the game off a jumper by Enemkpali at the 17:14 mark, and the Longhorns were able to convert on three of the four next possessions to lead 8-5 at the 14:50 mark. Despite the nearly three-minute long scoring drought that followed, the Longhorns still clung to a one-point lead, 10-9 with nearly 12 minutes left to play in the first half.
Texas Tech (6-22, 0-17) bounced back with a small 5-0 run for the 14-10 advantage at 9:45, and Texas answered with a 6-2 run to tie the game at 16-all with 7:30 left.
At that point, Texas' posts took over, with Enemkpali and McGee-Stafford scoring nine of the Longhorns' final 12 points, finishing with 21 of Texas' 28 first half points.
The first half featured 10 lead changes and three ties as neither team led by more than four points.
Texas steadily pulled away to start the second half, as the Longhorns compiled a 14-5 run over the first 4:25, fueled by eight points by sophomore Brady Sanders, including two 3-pointers. Texas Tech answered, rattling off five straight to cut Texas' lead to three, 42-39.
A pair of free throws by junior Krystle Henderson gave Texas a five-point lead with 10:49 remaining, but the Lady Raiders again cut the lead to three 17 seconds later. The Longhorns responded with an 8-0 run over the next 1:26 to gain their largest lead of the game at 10, 55-45 with 9:06 remaining.
The Lady Raiders answered Texas' run with a 10-2 run of their own over the next 3:42 seconds to cut Texas' 10-point lead to two, 57-55, with 4:34 left in the contest. Texas Tech continued to chip away and trailed by one point with 1:58 left. A subsequent jumper by Enemkpali gave Texas the 3-point cushion, 65-62, with 1:40 left.
Enemkpali converted two free throws with 14 seconds left to give Texas a five-point lead and seal the win. Texas Tech scored on a last-second jumper by freshman Ivonne CookTaylor, but the Longhorns escaped Lubbock with the victory, 67-64.
Texas Tech was led by junior Amber Battle and sophomore Kellyn Schneider with 14 points apiece.
The Longhorns are back in action against Oklahoma State for their final conference game of the regular season on Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network.
TEAM NOTES
• Series: With the win, Texas leads the all-time series with Texas Tech 62-30, including a 20-17 mark in Lubbock, Texas. Saturday's game was Texas' final road game of the regular season.
• Starters: For the fifth time this season and the fourth straight contest, Celina Rodrigo, Brady Sanders, Chassidy Fussell, Nneka Enemkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford started for the Longhorns. The team is 2-3 with this lineup this season.
• Texas out-rebounded Texas Tech 47-30 and outscored the Red Raiders 38-14 in the paint. In their two matchups this season, Texas has out-rebounded Texas Tech 89-60 and has outscored them 86-18 in the paint.
• Texas finished with three players scoring over 15 points. This is the first time in conference three players have scored over 15 points or more in the same contest, and the first time this season since Texas faced Texas State Nov. 13, 2013 when three players finished with 15-plus points.
• Texas finished 11-of-13 from the free throw line (85 percent), which is their best performance from the line since converting 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) against Iowa State on Feb. 9, 2014.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Imani McGee-Stafford
• Scored 18 points off 8-of-17 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes of play.
• Is averaging 18.7 points and 11 rebounds over the last three games.
Nneka Enemkpali
• Scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in 29 minutes of play.
Brady Sanders
• Scored a career-high 17 points, 13 in the second half alone. Was 3-of-5 from beyond-the-arc, and also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half, including 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Celina Rodrigo
• Grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a game-high seven assists.
• Has 12 games with 5-plus assists this season.
