The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
28-6
Arizona State
22-13
Sweet Sixteen Bound: No. 8 Women's Basketball defeats Arizona State in Second Round, 85-65
03.19.2018 | Women's Basketball
Higgs scores 19 points, McCarty notches third career double-double
Box Score | Postgame Quotes | Postgame Notes | Photo Gallery | Postgame Press Conference
AUSTIN, Texas -- Senior guard Brooke McCarty recorded her third-career double-double to lead second-seeded Texas Women's Basketball past seventh-seeded Arizona State in the NCAA Women's Second Round on Monday night at the Erwin Center, 85-65. The Longhorns led by as many as 25 late in the fourth quarter.
McCarty poured in 15 points and brought down 10 boards to go along with five assists in 36 minutes. Junior guard Lashann Higgs recorded a team-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting while senior guard Ariel Atkins added 12 points, six rebounds, and matched a team-high with five assists.
Sophomore forward Joyner Holmes scored 10 points and junior forward Olamide Aborowa contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
Texas was 37-of-60 (61.7 percent) from the field and outscored the Sun Devils 54-20 in paint scoring. The UT defense held Arizona State to just 39 percent shooting and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Longhorns out-rebounded ASU by a 40-19 margin.
Texas held an early 12-10 lead after a jumper from Jordan Hosey at the 4:32 mark in the first quarter. A 6-0 spurt from the Longhorns over a minute put UT on top, 20-15, with 1:19 remaining in the period. Texas headed to the second period with a 22-18 lead after holding the Sun Devils without a field goal over the final 3:38 of the first quarter.
The Longhorns built an 11-point (31-20) advantage at the 7:43 mark of the second quarter following a 9-0 run. Arizona State used a 9-2 run to cut the Texas lead to 38-35 with 23 seconds remaining in the half. Aborowa knocked down a jumper with three seconds to play to send the Longhorns into the break with a five-point (40-35) lead.
Higgs paced Texas in the first half with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 17 minutes while Atkins added eight points and five boards. The Longhorns were 19-of-32 (59.4 percent) from the field in the first half and held a 28-10 margin in paint scoring. The UT defense held Arizona State to 38.7 percent (12-of-31) shooting in the opening 20 minutes, including just 1-of-5 (20 percent) from deep.
ASU trimmed the Texas lead to just two (40-38) early in the second half, but the Longhorns responded with a 19-3 run over a 5:11 streak to extend their advantage to 59-41 at the 3:33 mark. An Alecia Sutton jumper with 29 seconds remaining closed out the Longhorn scoring as UT headed to the final stanza with a 65-50 lead.
Texas held the Sun Devils without a point over a 3:56 stretch to open up their largest lead of the contest of 23 (75-52) with 4:58 to play in regulation. A pair of free throws from Jatari White put Texas on top, 83-57, with 1:30 remaining as the Longhorns closed out a Second Round win.
Kianna Ibis paced Arizona State with 27 points.
Texas will head to Kansas City to face third-seeded UCLA at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 23rd in the Sweet Sixteen. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 and broadcast on 105.3 FM in Austin or at TexasSports.com/audio.
