The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.27.2017 | Women's Basketball
Higgs assumes the role of defensive stopper for the No. 2 Longhorns.
By: Riley Neuheardt
Texas Media Relations
When Lashann Higgs stepped onto the Forty Acres as a quiet and shy freshman in 2015, she knew she needed to be flexible, adaptable and able to fit any role that would position her to better help her team.
Two years later, she began her junior season with one of the largest adjustments yet.
Before Texas women's basketball took on Oklahoma City University in an exhibition game on Nov. 5, Head Coach Karen Aston asked for a player to step up to take on a challenging role.
She needed a defensive stopper –– a player who could disrupt the opponent's leading scorer throughout the course of the game –– to take over in the position left vacant by former Longhorn and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Brianna Taylor.
Higgs was the first player to raise her hand.
"She has seen in her years here what has been a really important part of our team is someone that will take the responsibility to guard the other team's best perimeter player," Aston said.
Higgs built a foundation for becoming a lockdown defender last season while playing with Taylor, and said she thought claiming the role as her own would be a true test of her strength as a defensive player.
"That means bringing it every day, regardless of how you're feeling, and [realizing] that this is what you need to do for the team," Higgs said.
But for Higgs, stepping up as a defensive stopper was more than a change on the court. It also served as a reflection of her hard work and the ongoing process of building confidence in herself.
Although Higgs ranked high on the team in scoring her first two seasons, she oftentimes struggled with consistency and confidence on the court. Taylor said that Higgs' high expectations for herself kept her from reaching her own huge potential.
But Higgs consciously worked to turn her focus into an advantage over the offseason, getting comfortable with making mistakes and moving past them.
"She worked most of all on just her self-confidence and her ability to kind of overcome when things don't go well," Aston said. "I think that's been the biggest stopping point for her, is getting too down on herself and not being able to move to that next play."
Higgs chose to work on her weaknesses, accepting the frustrations associated with finding consistency and mental toughness. Constantly going up against an opponent's best player can be a discouraging job, but Higgs said they key is to want to keep trying.
"It's something you have to tell yourself you're going to do because if you don't have confidence doing it, regardless of how good the other player is, they're going to tear you apart," Higgs said. "So you have to be just as mentally strong or even stronger than the best player that you're going up against."
Taylor, who now works as the Director of Women's Basketball Operations at the University of Nebraska Omaha, said that her time on the coaching staff has taught her that players like Higgs are rare and special.
"It was really fun and I love that kind of passing the torch, so to speak," Taylor said. "Honestly, Lashann's always had it. I just like that she's stepping into it and she's really starting to embrace it now."
Higgs said she tries not to be satisfied with where she's at now so she can continue to adapt and push past each challenge that she's presented with. For now, she is finding comfort in her job of making other players uncomfortable.
"What I've come to understand is that with trusting the process there will be a lot of frustration, and what matters is what you do with the frustration," Higgs said. "Do you let it push you forward or do you let it put you down even more?"
