The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
8-1
Northwestern State
4-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern State | 4 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 44 |
| Texas | 17 | 23 | 19 | 9 | 68 |
No. 8 Women's Basketball tops Northwestern St. 68-44
12.13.2017 | Women's Basketball
Jatarie White leads Longhorns with team-high 15 points
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AUSTIN, Texas – Junior forward Jatarie White registered a team-high 15 points as No. 8/8 Texas Women's Basketball (8-1) raced past Northwestern State (4-5), 68-44 on Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
"I wanted to hold them under 50 points and we were able to do that. I wasn't displeased with our defense. I definitely think that our team has a bit of a hangover from the Sunday loss," said Head Coach Karen Aston. "Not a high enough energy level that we're going to need going forward on Sunday and going into conference play."
White tallied 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 at the free throw line in just 19 minutes of action. Senior guard Ariel Atkins recorded a team-high seven rebounds and three steals and scored 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Sophomore guard Jada Underwood joined the double-figure ranks with 11 points and junior guard Lashann Higgs dished out a season-high six assists.
UT shot 27-of-51 (52.9 percent) from the field and outscored NWSU 40-10 in the paint. Texas held Northwestern State to just a 28.1 percent (16-of-57) FG mark and turned 16 Lady Demon turnovers into 14 points.
The Longhorns recorded the first seven points of the contest and utilized a 10-0 spurt in the final five minutes to extend the lead to 17-4 after the first period of action.
The Texas defense forced seven turnovers and held Northwestern State to just 2-of-10 shooting in the opening quarter, including 0-of-5 from behind-the-arc.
A Lady Demon three-pointer cut the Texas lead to single-digits at the 7:22 mark in the second period. UT responded with an 15-5 run over the next five minutes, fueled by seven points from Atkins. The Longhorns headed into the break with a 40-20 lead.
Texas was 16-of-25 (64 percent) in the opening half and outscored Northwestern State in the paint by a 22-4 margin. UT held the Lady Demons to a 29.6 percent (8-of-27) mark and forced nine turnovers. White led the Longhorns in the first half with 10 points and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Atkins added nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and six rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Texas continued to stretch the lead in the third quarter, using an 11-and-0 run to open a 31-point lead (51-20) at the 5:51 mark. Freshman guard Chasity Patterson closed out the scoring for the Longhorns in third quarter with a 3-pointer to give UT a 59-34 lead.
The Longhorns allowed just one field-goal in the final seven minutes to seal the 68-44 victory.
Jha'ne Wheeler paced the Lady Demons with 15 points.
Texas will be back in action at the Frank Erwin Center on Sunday, December 17 to face the No. 12/10 Florida State Seminoles. Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. CT, and will be nationally televised on FS1 and broadcast on 105.3 FM in Austin, Texas and at TexasSports.com/audio.
