The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
26-3,(15-3) #6/8
Baylor
30-1,(17-1) #4/4
No. 6/8 Women's Basketball falls at No. 4/4 Baylor, 74-48
02.29.2016 | Women's Basketball
Sophomore Brooke McCarty led Texas with 12 points and a game-high three steals.
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Quotes | Postgame Notes
WACO, Texas— Sophomore Brooke McCarty dropped 12 points and added a game-high three steals to lead No. 6/8 Texas in the 74-48 loss to No. 4/4 Baylor inside the Ferrell Center on Monday night.
With the loss, Texas (26-3, 15-3 Big 12 Conference) concludes its regular-season play and claims second place in the Big 12 Conference this season - the school's highest league finish since placing second in 2004-05. The Longhorns are 5-3 this season against AP top-25 ranked teams and 2-2 versus AP top-10 ranked squads.
"It was not a good day for us," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "We played hard in the first half but shot the ball really poorly today. Credit to Baylor and their defense. We just dug too big of a hole and then we went downhill from there."
McCarty brought down five boards and added a team-high four assists to compliment her 12 points. Senior Imani Boyette totaled eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocks on the night, while freshman Lashann Higgs dropped eight points in the fourth quarter to go along with her two steals.
As a team, Texas shot 29.0 percent (18-of-62) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the line. Baylor held a 52.8 (28-of-53) shooting percentage from the floor and a 70.0 (14-of-20) percentage from the charity stripe. The Horns swiped 10 steals on the night while limiting the Lady Bears to just two.
Baylor (30-1, 17-1 Big 12 Conference) was led by sophomore guard Kristy Wallace with 23 points.
Points were hard to come by in the opening minutes of regulation, but Texas took its first lead of the game, 6-5, after a McCarty layup at the 5:31 mark. Neither team led by more than a one-point margin until a jumper from senior Empress Davenport gave the Horns the narrow 13-11 lead with just under two minutes remaining. Baylor closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to hand the Lady Bears the 14-13 advantage.
The Longhorns held a 17-16 lead at the 9:05 mark of the second, but Baylor contested on a 14-3 run to close the half. Texas was held scoreless for overly six minutes in the heart of the second, with points coming from a junior Kelsey Lang jumper and freshman Jordan Hosey free throw. The Lady Bears nailed with a buzzer-beater triple to head to the locker room with their largest margin of the half, 30-20.
Baylor utilized six three-point conversions in the third, including a stretch of three consecutive to lead by 22 points (49-27) with 3:11 remaining in the quarter. Senior Celina Rodrigo added a layup in transition to try to get the offense started, but the Lady Bears captured the last nine points of the half to increase their spread to 60-30.
Higgs dropped all eight of her points in the last quarter to help Texas outscore Baylor 18-14 to close out the match. McCarty added the lone triple for the Longhorns with 3:56 remaining in regulation, but Baylor claimed the game, 74-48.
Next on the slate, the Longhorns will travel to Oklahoma City, Okla., to compete in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship hosted at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Play is scheduled for March 4-7. Texas has earned the second seed, secured a bye to the quarterfinal round, and will hit the floor on Saturday, March 5. Seeds for the tournament will be announced tomorrow night, and the games will be broadcast on the Fox family of networks.
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