The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
15-5, 4-5
TCU *
13-7, 5-4
No. 14/13 Women’s Basketball falls at TCU, 64-59
02.01.2015 | Women's Basketball
Junior center Imani McGee-Stafford posts a season-high 22 points in road loss.
FORT WORTH, Texas -- No. 14/13 Texas Women's Basketball lost to TCU, 64-59, on Sunday at the University Recreation Center.
Junior center Imani McGee-Stafford posted a season-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds and accounted for 16 of UT's 24 first-half points. Sophomore center Kelsey Lang and freshman guard Ariel Atkins added 13 point each while junior guard Celina Rodrigo led the team with a season-high seven assists and tied a career-high nine rebounds.
TCU was led by junior guard Veja Hamilton's 16 points, while three other Horned Frogs scored in double-digits to help TCU (13-7, 5-4) upset the Longhorns in Fort Worth for the second consecutive year.
Texas (15-5, 4-5 Big 12) came out strong to an early 8-0 lead, but after the 17:34 mark, the teams traded baskets until TCU took the lead with a jumper by Hamilton. TCU held a 24-23 halftime lead. The up-tempo first half caused the Longhorns to commit 15 turnovers, but they out-rebounded TCU, 26-14.
The Longhorns tied the score twice in the second half, but TCU maintained its lead for the remainder of the game. With Texas down by four and 2:26 remaining, Atkins was at the free throw line for a shooting foul when a technical foul was called on TCU's Klara Bradshaw for entering the game while Atkins was in the process of shooting a free throw. Atkins was awarded two more free throw attempts and sunk all four to tie the game, 57-57.
But TCU responded to UT's four-point run with a 3-pointer from Chelsea Prince, which sparked a 7-2 run in favor of the Horned Frogs to end the game.
Despite the loss, the Longhorns held TCU to only 37 percent (22-of-60) from the field. The
Longhorns will continue to seek their first Big 12 road win of the season at Kansas State on Wednesday (6 p.m. Central, FOX Sports Midwest).
• Texas leads the all-time series with TCU, 34-2. UT's only two losses in the series have come during the last two meetings in Fort Worth.
• Centers Kelsey Lang and Imani McGee-Stafford combined for 21 of UT's 23 first-half points and 35 of UT's 59 total points. Lang and McGee-Stafford were in the Longhorn's starting lineup for the second time in their careers.
• Junior center Imani McGee-Stafford scored a season-high 22 points (10-16 FG) in 27 minutes. McGee-Stafford added eight rebound and two steals. Her 16 first-half points is the third-most points in a single half of her career.
• Freshman guard Ariel Atkins is shooting 88 percent at the free throw line this season. In the last two games Atkins is 15-of-17 at the line.
• Junior guard Celina Rodrigo set a season high in assists (7) and tied a career high in rebounds (9). Rodrigo played in her 84th consecutive game.
• Texas turned the ball over a season-high 24 times.
