The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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No. 6/7 Women’s Basketball outlasts No. 14/15 Ohio State 66-63 to advance to the Elite 8
03.26.2022 | Women's Basketball
Joanne Allen-Taylor records team-high 17 points to help propel the Longhorns to Sunday’s Regional Final.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Texas Women's Basketball is 'Elite' once again.
The Longhorns are heading to the Elite 8 for the second-straight season and the 11th time in school history after edging No. 14/15-ranked and No.6-seed Ohio State, 66-63, in the Sweet 16 round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament inside the Spokane Arena Friday evening.
With the win, the No.2-seeded Longhorns (29-6) run their win streak to 14 games and claim their spot in Sunday's Spokane Regional final where they'll meet up with No. 1 seed Stanford (31-3) for a spot in next weekend's Final Four. Sunday's tip is slated for 8 p.m. CT/ 6 p.m. PT and will air on ESPN.
The Longhorns came out of the gates fast offensively as they built up a 12-7 advantage midway through the first quarter, but the Buckeyes closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 20-16 lead into the second quarter.
Texas reclaimed the lead with a 16-10 second quarter to take 32-30 lead into the locker room at the half.
An 18-15 third quarter gave UT a five-point advantage heading into the final frame, but the Buckeyes were able to claw back and draw to within one (64-63) on a jumper by Tanaya Beacham with 42 seconds on the clock.
Freshman forward Aaliyah Moore came away with a blocked shot with 16 seconds left and Rori Harmon sank a pair of free throws to put the game away for good.
With Harmon, missing much of the first half due to foul trouble, senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor stepped up to run the offense and contributed a team-best 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with three assists.
Junior guard Aliyah Matharu came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-8 from the floor including a perfect 2-of-2 mark from behind the arc. She also led the team with four steals.
Senior Lauren Ebo added nine points and led the way on the glass with a team-high eight rebounds. Moore and DeYona Gaston added eight points, respectively.
As a team, the Longhorns finished the game shooting 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the floor and shot 80 percent (12-of-15) from the charity stripe.
Texas forced 17 Ohio State turnovers in the game, which led to 21 points and committed 17 turnovers on the other end. Rebounds were also even at 32 apiece.
The Buckeyes finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (23-of-61) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from behind the arc.
OSU was led offensively by Taylor Mikesell who finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting including a 3-of-4 mark from three-point range. Jacy Sheldon added 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Beacham led the team on the glass with 10 rebounds.
Texas will now turn their attention to the Cardinal, who have won 23-stright games entering Sunday's tilt. The Longhorns are one of just three teams to defeat the defending National Champs this season which came via a 61-56 victory in Palo Alto back on Nov.14.
Texas will look to secure their fourth Final Four appearance in school history and their first since 2003 on Sunday.
