The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-0
LSU
2-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 28 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 75 |
| LSU | 17 | 11 | 9 | 29 | 66 |
No. 2 Women's Basketball holds off LSU, 75-66
11.24.2017 | Women's Basketball
Ariel Atkins scores a team-high 17 points with four steals.
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Notes
LAS VEGAS – Senior Texas guard Ariel Atkins scored a team-high 17 points and the No. 2 Longhorns shot 52.6 percent from the field to hold off LSU for a 75-66 win at the South Point Shootout in the South Point Arena.
Texas (4-0) led by as many as 24 points with 7:50 remaining in the game, before LSU trimmed its deficit down to nine points with less than a minute left to play. A lay-up by senior forward Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau with 28 seconds left pushed the lead back to double digits and the Longhorns improved to 4-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.
"I thought we played a little bit similar to how we practiced this week – on and off," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "There were some really good moments and some moments that we're really going to have to start cleaning up as the competition gets tougher. I thought LSU gave us some different looks defensively, which we haven't seen. They have the athletic ability to continue to score points if you relax. They did the things that they do really well. We've just got to clean up some of our lapses in judgement, either on the offensive end and defensive lapses from letting people score layups."
Atkins' team-high 17 points came on 6-of-8 shooting and a 2-of-3 clip from beyond the arc. She added four assists and four steals in 21 minutes of play. She was one of four Texas players to score in double-digits on Friday.
Junior forward Jatarie White registered 10 points and four rebounds in the opening quarter and finished with 14 points and five boards in 24 minutes of play.
"I thought Jatarie set a tone for us," Aston said. "We got her involved early and that was good for us. I tried to get some other people involved late in the game and I probably should have kept her in because I thought she was quite a presence in the game."
Junior guard Lashann Higgs tallied 13 points and dished out three assists in 25 minutes, while senior guard Brooke McCarty added 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists in 33 minutes of play. McCarty had two three-pointers, moving her into a tie with Heather Schreiber for fifth place on UT's all-time career three-pointers made list with 189. She also became the 28th player in school history to surpass 1,200 career points and now has 1,207 for her UT career.
Audrey-Ann Caron Goudreau came close to a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points.
The Longhorns shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field, marking the second consecutive game in which they have shot 50 percent or better. Texas out-rebounded LSU 34-33 and the Longhorns have won the battle of the boards in each of the four games they have played this season.
The Longhorns broke out to an early 16-4 advantage at the 5:09 mark of the opening quarter thanks to five points from White and four from Atkins. LSU then went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:13 to pull within three points, 16-13. Raigyne Louis had the first nine points of the game for the Tigers. Three-pointers by McCarty and Higgs helped the Longhorns extend their edge back out to eight, 23-15, at the 1:23 mark of the first period. That three from Higgs sparked an 8-2 run to close the quarter that was capped off by a three-point play from White. Texas led 28-17 after the first quarter, continuing its streak of strong starts in the opening quarter this season.
The two teams traded baskets to start the second quarter before LSU rank off five points in a row to cut within seven, 30-23, at the 8:11 mark. Higgs, McCarty and White all had baskets on a 7-1 run that extended the Longhorns' advantage to 37-24 with 2:53 left in the half. Texas entered the halftime locker room with a 41-28 advantage.
In a low-scoring third quarter, the Longhorns widened their lead to 21, 58-37. Texas scored the final six points of the quarter, including back-to-back baskets by sophomore guard Alecia Sutton.
An and-one from Atkins opened the fourth quarter and after the teams traded baskets, a pair of hoops from junior forward Olamide Aborowa gave the Longhorns their largest lead of the night at 24 points (64-40) with 7:50 remaining in the game. Texas led 66-46 with 5:58 left in the game following a basket by Higgs. That's when LSU went on an 18-7 run that brought the Tigers within nine, 73-64, with 43 ticks left on the clock.
LSU (2-3) was led by 23 points from junior guard Chloe Jackson and 20 points from Louis. The Tigers shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field in the game.
Texas returns to action on Saturday when it faces Pacific-12 Conference foe Washington. Tip-off at the South Point Arena is slated for 3:15 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on 105.3 FM in Austin or at texassports.com/audio and a live video stream will be available here.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Karen Aston
"I thought we played a little bit similar to how we practiced this week – on and off. There were some really good moments and some moments that we're really going to have to start cleaning up as the competition gets tougher. I thought LSU gave us some different looks defensively, which we haven't seen. They have the athletic ability to continue to score points if you relax. They did the things that they do really well. We've just got to clean up some of our lapses in judgement, either on the offensive end and defensive lapses from letting people score layups."
On junior center Jatarie White, who scored 14 points and brought down five rebounds …
"I thought she set a tone for us. We got her involved early and that was good for us. I tried to get some other people involved late in the game and I probably should have kept her in because I thought she was quite a presence in the game."
On adjustments Texas will need to make before facing Washington on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT …
"We're going to have to play a lot better on the defensive end. Our game plan was to allow LSU to shoot some shots, and they made some of them, but we were sort of playing our percentages with that. I don't think we can roll the dice on that against Washington. They can really shoot; our defense is going to have to be better."
#40 Jatarie White, Jr., C
On Texas' 75-66 win against LSU on Friday in the South Point Shootout …
"I thought we started out okay – we could have done a little better – but I think, going along in the game, we got kind of complacent with letting them [LSU] getting away with the things that we know they are capable of doing. Definitely grabbing rebounds and pursuing the ball is something that we need to work on."
On her 14-point, five-rebound effort against LSU …
"I think I just got out there and worked on defense. My teammates say 'let the defense carry over to offense,' and I started out strong with defense, and it kind of carried over to the offensive end and going after loose balls."
#23 Ariel Atkins, Sr., G
On what Texas needs to improve upon following its 75-66 win against LSU on Friday in the South Point Shootout …
"I think we have some pretty good chemistry, but we do have to get better defensively and rebound better."
On her 17-point, four-assist, four-steal performance against LSU …
"I knew my team needed a lift coming off the bench after having two fouls in the first quarter. It is something that I don't need to do, so that was my emphasis."
