The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
03.10.2021 | Women's Basketball
Charli Collier highlighted the group with unanimous first-team All-Big 12 and All-Defensive Team honors.
AUSTIN, Texas – A quartet of Texas Women's Basketball standouts earned All-Big 12 recognition from the league's head coaches on Wednesday. Junior forward/center Charli Collier highlighted the group, collecting unanimous first-team All-Big 12 recognition and a spot on the All-Defensive Team. In addition, Joanne Allen-Taylor, Kyra Lambert and Celeste Taylor all earned honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades.
Collier, a Mont Belvieu, Texas native, is a national awards and All-America candidate this season who is averaging 20.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She is the only Division I player currently averaging at least 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ranks second nationally with 17 double-doubles this season. A finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, which honors the nation's top center, Collier has accounted for 30% of Texas' scoring and 32% of the Longhorns' rebounds this year – both the highest percentage among the five finalists. She has scored at least 20 points on 16 occasions, nine more than any other Leslie Award finalist, and helped Texas go 14-2 in those instances (3-6 when less than 20 points). Defensively, Collier has grabbed at least 10 rebounds on 17 occasions, with eight of those featuring totals of 15-plus rebounds. She grabbed at least 15 rebounds in six-straight games from Jan. 17 to Feb. 3, including posting the first 20-20 game by a Longhorn since 2012 with 23 points and 20 boards vs. TCU. She is the anchor in the middle of a Texas defense that is allowing only 61.9 points per game – the third-best mark in the Big 12 – and one that leads the conference in turnovers forced per game (19.68) and turnover margin (+5.24) this season. It is the second-straight year Collier has earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's head coaches.
Allen-Taylor, a Houston native, leads the Longhorns in minutes played per game (34.6) and is one of four players on head coach Vic Schaefer's roster currently averaging over 10 points per game. The junior's 11.7 points per game is tied for second on the team, while her 59 assists (2.3 apg), 33 steals and 27 made 3-pointers both also rank second among the Horns. She has scored in double figures 18 times this season to date, including in each of her last three outings. From Nov. 29 to Jan. 9, Allen-Taylor scored in double figures in nine consecutive contests, the longest streak of her career to date. She scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to record her first collegiate double-double in a win over Drake on Dec. 18.
Lambert, a Cibolo, Texas native, is the Longhorns' court commander at the point guard position, and is averaging 6.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game this season. Her 70 assists and 28 made 3-pointers are both team-high marks. Lambert has made a 3-pointer in 18 of her 23 appearances this season, including a season-high three against Idaho (Dec. 9) and Texas Tech (Jan. 30). Four times she has scored in double figures, and on seven occasions has dished out at least five assists. Lambert currently ranks 38th nationally, and third in the conference, with a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. In a home win over Drake back on Dec. 18, Lambert was a stat-stuffer for the Longhorns, recording a season-high 11 points, six assists, eight rebounds and seven steals.
Taylor, a Valley Stream, N.Y. native, is currently tied for second on the team with 11.7 points per game this season. She has featured in 22 games (20 starts) and has chipped in with a team-high 49 steals, 4.5 rebounds per game and 40 assists this year. Taylor has scored in double figures 16 times this season, highlighted by a streak of six-straight games with at least 10 points from Jan. 30 to Feb. 21. An All-Freshman Team selection in last year's Big 12 end-of-year awards, Taylor has tallied two double-doubles this season, doing so on Jan. 30 vs. Texas Tech (10 pts, 11 rebs) and on Feb. 27 vs. Oklahoma (10 pts, 12 rebs). She has recorded a pair of 20-point outings, scoring 24 points in the season opener vs. SMU and later adding 23 points in a home win over Kansas on Jan. 14. Thirteen times this season Taylor has recorded multiple steals in a game, led by a career-high eight vs. SMU to open her sophomore campaign. She currently ranks second in the Big 12 in steals (49) and steals per game (2.23).
Texas is set to begin postseason play this week at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships in Kansas City, Mo. The Longhorns, the No. 5 seed in this year's tournament, are slated to face fourth-seeded Iowa State in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, March 12, at 10:30 a.m. on ESPNU.
