The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
West Virginia
No. 6 Women's Basketball reaches Big 12 Tournament Final, downing No. 22 WVU 67-51
03.06.2016 | Women's Basketball
Senior Celina Rodrigo led the Longhorns in points, rebounds, steals, and assists.
Boxscore (PDF) | Postgame Notes | Postgame Quotes | Photo Gallery
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oka.— For the second night in a row, senior guard Celina Rodrigo led her team in scoring, finishing with 12 points to elevate No. 6/7 Texas over No. 22/RV West Virginia, 67-51, in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
With the victory, Texas (28-3) will play in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game for the second straight year. The Horns lead the all-time series against the Mountaineers, 6-5, and have won the past three meetings.
"I was extremely pleased with the way we started the game," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "Our team seems to feed positively off of having fast starts and good starts. I thought our guards played terrific. There were also great contributions from our bench, which has been sort of our trademark all year long, and I think that's been a plus for us in tournament."
Rodrigo also led Texas with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Sophomore Brooke McCarty and sophomore Ariel Atkins each added 11 points on the night, marking the sixth-straight game in the double figures for McCarty. Senior Imani Boyette totaled 10 points and tacked on four rebounds and two blocks.
As a team, the Horns shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from behind the arc. The Mountaineers were limited to 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor and 13.0 percent (3-of-23) from three-point land.
West Virginia (24-9) was led by senior Jessica Morton with 13 points.
The Mountaineers opened the game with a three-pointer, but the Longhorns responded on a 9-0 run to lead 9-3, forcing a timeout at the 6:47 mark. West Virginia cut the margin to three (13-10) after another triple with 1:43 remaining, but Atkins drained a contested jumper and McCarty added a buzzer-beater from downtown to hand Texas the 18-11 advantage.
The Horns utilized the second quarter to extend their cushion driven by layups from freshman Lashann Higgs in the opening stretch. A long triple from Rodrigo closed the half for the Longhorns, and Texas headed into the break leading 38-23.
Texas made it a 20-point game after an Atkins jumper at the 9:22 mark and never looked back. Sophomore Tasia Foman took the last four points for Texas, giving the Horns the 59-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Boyette started the final quarter with a jumper, but West Virginia went on a 11-0 spurt over the next seven minutes to cut the Texas lead to 61-47 with 2:20 remaining in regulation. Freshman Jordan Hosey gave the Horns a momentum boost with a jumper at 1:59, and Texas closed the game with three more baskets to get the 67-51 win.
Up next, Texas will play No. 4/4 Baylor on Monday in the final round of the Big 12 Tournament Championship. Tip inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be carried live on FS1.
