The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
11-0
Sam Houston State
4-6
No. 5 Women's Basketball beats Sam Houston State, 83-49
12.27.2015 | Women's Basketball
Freshman Lashann Higgs scores 17 points, dishes out eight assists.
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AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman Texas guard Lashann Higgs flirted with a triple-double on Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center as the No. 5 Longhorns defeated Sam Houston State 83-49. Texas closed out non-conference play with a perfect 11-0 record for the second consecutive season, marking the first time in school history that a team has gone undefeated in non-conference play in back-to-back years.
"I think you always have to be pleased when you have a team that can go an extended amount of time without a loss," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "We were able to go through some really tough games, some games on the road, and withstand the different environments and be able to win. But I think our team has to start playing better. I haven't been critical of this team because I think they want to be great, but we aren't playing at the level we need to play at as we go into conference play."
Higgs scored a game-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists. She also tied her career high with four steals in a career-high 26 minutes of action. Higgs led a Texas bench effort that scored 62 of the team's 83 total points.
"It's rewarding when you can help your team," Higgs said. "As a player, there is always something you can control, which is defense. The offense isn't always going to go the way you want it to go all of the time, so I try and just focus on defending and rebounding."
The Longhorns (11-0) earned the 992nd victory in program history and improve to 9-0 all-time against Sam Houston State (4-6). Texas finishes the year with a 25-game winning streak against regular-season non-conference opponents dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
Higgs was one of four Longhorns to score in double figures on Sunday. Sophomore guard Ariel Atkins, in only her second game back from injury, scored a season-high 12 points to go along with four rebounds in a season-high 19 minutes of action. Freshman forward Jordan Hosey reached double-figure point totals for the first time in her collegiate career with 10 points in a career-high 16 minutes. Junior center Kelsey Lang added 10 points and tied her season high with eight rebounds. She has scored in double figures in three of the last five games for the Longhorns.
Junior forward Sara Hattis scored a career-high nine points in 14 minutes of action, while junior guard Brianna Taylor tied her season high with three steals. Senior center Imani Boyette scored five points and brought down five rebounds, increasing her career points total to 1,085.
The Longhorns out-rebounded the Bearkats 43-24, and Texas has won the battle of the boards in 10 of its 11 games this season. UT shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the field, marking the third time this year that it has shot better than 50 percent from the floor. The Longhorns held Sam Houston State to 32 percent (16-of-50) shooting from the field, including a 3-for-17 mark beyond the three-point arc.
A season-high 13 Texas players saw action in Sunday's game and the Longhorns dished out a season-high 25 assists, their most since the last time they met Sam Houston State on December 15, 2013.
Texas did not make a three-pointer in the game, marking the first time the Longhorns have not made a three since facing Missouri on March 6, 2007 in the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Sam Houston State was led by Shernise Robertson who finished with 16 points and made 7-of-8 free throws. Robertson, who entered the game averaging 16.2 points per game, was held to just below her season scoring average. Angela Beadle brought down a team-high five rebounds for the Bearkats, who committed 29 turnovers that resulted in 36 Texas points.
The two teams traded baskets to begin the game until back-to-back buckets by Atkins and Higgs gave the Longhorns an 8-2 advantage entering the first media timeout. From there, Texas went on an 8-2 scoring streak, giving the Horns a 16-4 lead at the 2:06 mark of the first quarter, but the Bearkats scored the final four points of the first quarter, closing the gap to 16-8.
The Longhorns came out strong in the second half going on a 10-4 run with shots from Lang, Jordan Hosey, and Higgs extending the Horns lead to 26-12 and forcing the Bearkats to call a timeout at the 5:40 mark. Texas used an 8-0 run at the 1:36 mark putting the Horns up 34-12. The Bearkats kept fighting, putting up four points from Laurynn McGowen and Robertson, making the score 36-17 at intermission.
To begin the second half, UT completed a 14-5 run spanning the first six minutes of the third quarter to take a 50-24 lead. Atkins put up six points in the third quarter, helping the Longhorns to a 57-28 advantage heading into the final period.
Hosey opened the fourth quarter making a pair of free throws. Back-to-back layups from Texas's Higgs and Brooke McCarty gave the Longhorns one of their biggest leads of the night of 36 points at the 3:33 mark. Final shots from Higgs and Hosey brought the Longhorns to the buzzer with an 83-49 win over the Bearkats.
Texas begins Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday as it travels to Morgantown, W.Va., to face West Virginia. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT and a live, free video stream will be available at WVUSports.com.
