The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 9/9 West Virginia
Balanced effort leads No. 8 Women's Basketball past No. 9 West Virginia
12.31.2017 | Women's Basketball
Senior guard Brooke McCarty records 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Longhorns.
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Senior guard Brooke McCarty became just the fourth player in school history to reach 200 career three-pointers and No. 8 Texas used a 14-0 run to start the second half in a 79-58 win against No. 9 West Virginia on Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center.
The Longhorns (11-1, 2-0 Big 12 Conference) were energized by a balanced effort that saw four players score in double figures and five players record six or more rebounds. As a team, Texas recorded 63 rebounds, which tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. The Longhorns out-rebounded the Mountaineers 63-30.
West Virginia entered Sunday's game as one of only five remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball.
McCarty, who started her 95th career game for the Longhorns on Sunday, totaled a team-high 17 points and brought down a career-high nine rebounds. She also dished out three assists in 29 minutes of play. McCarty, who scored in double figures for the 69th time in her career, increased her career scoring total to 1,310 points, which ties her for 24th place in program history.
Freshman forward Rellah Boothe scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with a pair of three-pointers, while sophomore guard Alecia Sutton tied her career-high with 11 points. Junior center Jatarie White also flirted with a double-double, scoring 10 points – on 4-of-4 shooting – and bringing down nine boards. Junior forward Olamide Aborowa brought down a career-high nine rebounds to complement four points in 10 minutes of action.
Texas shot 44.7 percent (34-of-76) from the field, while holding West Virginia to 31.9 percent (23-of-72) shooting. The Longhorns out-scored the Mountaineers 54-26 in points in the paint. The Texas bench outscored the West Virginia bench 37-8, as the Mountaineers used a rotation that was only seven players deep.
Texas opened up to an early 5-1 advantage at the 7:37 mark of the first quarter after a basket from Atkins and a three-point play by junior guard Lashann Higgs. Back-to-back threes from West Virginia sparked a 6-2 run by the Mountaineers that knotted the score at 7-7 with 6:55 remaining in the period. The Longhorns then went on an 8-0 run over the next 4:10, which included three baskets by McCarty, to take a 15-7 advantage with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the period and Texas led 18-13 after the opening quarter.
The two teams exchanged baskets to start the second quarter until West Virginia got back-to-back hoops from Theresa Ekhelar and Naomi Davenport to cut within three, 23-20, at the 6:24 mark. Texas then used a 6-0 run, which included a pair of baskets by Boothe, to extend its advantage to nine, 29-20, with 3:21 left until halftime. Junior forward Jordan Hosey and Higgs closed the half with consecutive baskets to send Texas into the locker room with a 33-22 advantage.
Texas opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run to go ahead 47-22 before a basket by West Virginia's Teana Muldrow stopped the scoring streak at the 4:09 mark of the period. The Longhorns responded with a pair of hoops by Boothe to spark a 6-0 run that ended with a White basket and put Texas ahead 53-24 with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Longhorns closed out the third period with a basket by Aborowa that put them ahead 57-28.
Texas extended its lead to the largest of the game at 30 points (67-37) with 5:38 left after a three-point play from sophomore guard/forward Jada Underwood. The Mountaineers out-scored the Longhorns 26-22 in the final period of the game.
West Virginia (13-1, 1-1) was led by Davenport's game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Chania Ray added 15 points.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday when it plays host to No. 24 Oklahoma State. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally by Longhorn Network.
