The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
24-8
Central Arkansas
26-5
No. 14/15 Women’s Hoops advances with win over Central Arkansas, 78-50
03.17.2017 | Women's Basketball
No. 3 seed Texas will face No. 6 seed N.C. State in the Second Round.
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Notes | Central Arkansas Quotes | Texas Quotes | Postgame Press Conference | Photo Gallery
AUSTIN, Texas – Junior Brooke McCarty notched a team-high 15 points as No. 14/15 Texas Women's Basketball (24-8) knocked off Central Arkansas in the First Round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament inside the Erwin Center on Friday afternoon, 70-58.
With the win, No. 3 seed Texas now holds a 39-23 mark all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 7-3 mark under head coach Karen Aston.
The game marked senior Kelsey Lang's 136th as a Longhorn, the most games a Texas player has participated in since 1983.
"I thought our team got off to a tremendous start today," said Aston. "Overall, we got a chance to get everybody minutes in NCAA Tournament play. I thought that was great."
McCarty complimented her 15 points with five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Joyner Holmes and Lang joined her in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Holmes also totaled a game-high nine boards and four assists.
As a team, Texas shot 51.7 percent (31-60) from the field and 50 percent (4-8) from beyond the arc. Central Arkansas was limited to a 31.7 shooting percentage (20-63). The Longhorns out-rebounded the Sugar Bears, 55-23.
No. 14 seed Central Arkansas was led by senior Maggie Proffitt with 17 points.
The Horns used a 75.0 shooting percentage (9-12) in the first quarter to jump out to a 24-4 lead. In the second frame, UCA knocked down its first bucket in six minutes after a jumper at the 7:35 mark. Texas maintained a healthy margin, and a buzzer-beating layup from freshman Jada Underwood put the Horns on top at the half, 48-20.
The Sugar Bears outscored the Longhorns, 23-14 in the third stanza, including a 16-4 run in the heart of the quarter. Texas scored 10 of its 16 points in the closing frame off layups to take the game, 78-50.
The Longhorns will return to action on Sunday, March 19 as they take on No. 6 seed North Carolina State in the Second Round. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT and the game will be carried live on ESPN2.
