The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
6-0
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Mississippi State
5-1
No. 6 Women's Basketball Downs No. 9 Mississippi State, 53-47
12.02.2015 | Women's Basketball
Imani Boyette scores 21 points and brings down 10 rebounds.
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Notes | Postgame Quotes | Photo Gallery
AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday evening at the Frank Erwin Center, senior center Imani Boyette scored a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 6 Texas (6-0) earned its second consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent by handing No. 9 Mississippi State (5-1) its first loss of the season, 53-47.
Boyette posted her third double-double of the season while tacking on two blocks in 33 minutes of play. She is currently averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game this year.
"This is a really good win for our program and our team because I have a lot of respect for [Mississippi State head coach] Vic [Schaefer] and the way he runs his program," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "I think it was obvious that both teams were pretty concentrated on defense tonight. It was an ugly offensive game. We just beat a top-10 team and we did it back-to-back."
Junior guard Brianna Taylor was next for the Longhorns with nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort from the field. Junior center Kelsey Lang tied her season high with eight rebounds, while Empress Davenport, guarding Mississippi State's leading scorer Victoria Vivians scored seven points, brought down a season-high five rebounds and dished out four assists.
As a team, Texas shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the floor and outrebounded the Bulldogs, 41-30.
Boyette was recognized before the game for becoming the 40th player in Texas history to hit the 1,000-point milestone, reaching the monumental mark on Nov. 25 against Hampton. The Los Angeles, Calif., native currently owns 1,041 total points and 211 blocks in her Texas career.
Sophomore guard Brooke McCarty helped spark the Longhorn offense to an early 6-0 lead after a layup off a steal of a Bulldog inbounds pass. Texas maintained at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the first quarter, closing it out 18-9.
The Burnt Orange & White extended their advantage to double digits on a Boyette three-point play at the 7:29 mark of the second quarter. The Bulldogs would spend the remainder of the period trying to cut into the Longhorn lead, finishing on a 4-0 run to pull within 26-21 at the break.
The Bulldogs spent the majority of third quarter further closing the gap, making it a one-possession game on a lay-up at the 7:03 mark. Mississippi State got into some early foul trouble in the stanza, however, opening the door for UT to score seven points from the line and complete the third with the 41-33 lead.
After a scoreless opening two minutes of play in the final quarter, Taylor drilled the Horns first three-pointer of the game with 7:36 remaining in regulation. MSU answered with two triples of their own down the stretch, but it proved to be too little too late as the Longhorns secured the victory, 53-47.
Next, Texas will hit the road to take on the Little Rock Trojans on Sun., Dec. 6, in Little Rock, Ark. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. Central.
