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No. 12 Women's Basketball tops Texas Tech, 78-71
01.26.2019 | Women's Basketball
Littleton and Williams' heroics help the Longhorns prevail after a 14-point deficit.
LUBBOCK, Texas -- No. 12 Texas battled for a hard fought win over Texas Tech on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Longhorns, down by 14 at one point in the first half, came back to win by seven, 78-71.
Key performances from graduate student Danni Williams and sophomore Destiny Littleton powered critical moments in the Longhorns' scoring drives. Williams tallied 16 points, five rebounds, and a season-high four assists while Littleton put up 11 points, including two pivotal three-point baskets, and four rebounds.
Junior point guard Sug Sutton charted 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while senior center Jatarie White added 12 points and three rebounds. Senior forward Olamide Aborowa tied her career high with nine rebounds, while contributing eight points in 19 minutes.
The two teams battled closely to begin the game until Texas Tech began its separation at 4:43 with a massive 13-0 run spanning just over five minutes.
Within this run, Tech hit back-to-back three pointers in less than 30 seconds, with Texas' scoreless possessions continuing to separate the teams. A pair of free throws from Aborowa with just under two minutes to go ended the Longhorns' scoring drought. Angel Hayden hit the Lady Raiders' seventh three-point basket of the quarter for Texas Tech with just under a minute remaining. Texas would end the scoring of the period for both teams at 40 seconds to go, with a lay-up from junior Jada Underwood, the scoreboard reading in Tech's favor, 27-16.
In the second quarter, White picked up two points out of the gates on an offensive rebound and lay-up. Texas struggled to make up the difference during the bulk of the quarter, still trailing by 10 going into the media timeout at 4:49. Tech had the largest lead of the game with 14 at 2:53 to go, with the score reflecting 39-25. In the final minutes of the second period, Texas went off on an 8-0 run spurred solely by Littleton and freshman Joanne Allen-Taylor. The drive spanned 2:13 and Texas ended the half down by just five points, 40-35.
Following the break, a Texas 11-2 run over almost four minutes diminished Texas Tech's position, with Underwood tying the game at 7:28 off a jumper. The Longhorns took the lead several moments later with back-to-back buckets from Joyner Holmes. The Lady Raiders sank another three-point shot at the five-minute mark, the score separated by just a single point. The tenth Lady Raider three-point basket of the day at 2:28 threatened the Longhorns' lead. White's attempt to stop the drive with another lay-up set the score back at 55-52, Texas, before Chrislyn Carr's three point bucket tied the game at 55-55 to end the period.
In an action-packed final quarter, two successful Texas Tech possessions put the Lady Raiders up by four points before Williams scored a basket to stop the scoring spree. Texas Tech's Erin DeGrate went to the charity stripe at 7:32, going 1-for-2 in shooting, putting the Lady Raiders up by three. A minute later, DeGrate hit a lay-up, Tech going up by five. The two teams continued to eb-and-flow in the middle of the quarter, but Texas eventually reclaimed the lead and took off, holding on tight to a 71-66 lead with a minute remaining. The Longhorns' largest lead of the game first came at 38 seconds on the clock, a seven-point advantage, after Williams sank a pair of free throws. A quick three from Tech's Carr put it at 73-69, 23 seconds remaining. The Longhorns closed out the game with a strong performance from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT
Texas returns to action on Monday evening in Austin, hosting the West Virginia Mountaineers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on FS1. Listeners can tune into 105.3 FM in Austin or at TexasSports.com/Audio for a broadcast of the contest.
