Texas Women Can’t Overcome Cyclones in Senior Night Loss
Senior Night was not kind to the Texas Women’s Basketball team.
The #6-ranked Texas Women’s Basketball team lost their third straight game, 70-66, against Iowa State Friday night in Austin.
After winning 19 straight games, Texas has lost their last three games by a combined eight points.
On Friday night, Texas just could not find an offensive rhythm against the Cyclones. Meanwhile, the Horns gave up too many three-pointers on the outside and too many drives to the basket on the inside.
It was a tough way for seniors Kelsey Lang and Brianna Taylor to end their Texas careers at the Erwin Center.
Texas Women Unable To Solve Iowa State’s Gameplan
The gameplan from Iowa State was to pack the defense down low. They were putting four defenders near the paint and one defender on top. This prevented Joyner Holmes and senior Kelsey Lang from getting going.
On the outside, Texas’ shooters did not have the confidence to shoot, playing right into the gameplan. Iowa State dared Texas to shoot the three-ball, leaving players completely unguarded and wide open in the second half.
Freshman Alecia Sutton was the beneficiary of the Cyclones’ defense. Often times, she found herself completely alone in the corner. But, she hesitated to shoot, allowing Iowa State to set their interior defense.
Sutton ended up 2-8 on threes and Brooke McCarty went 1-3 from behind the arc. Other than a last-second three-point attempt from Lashann Higgs, Sutton and McCarty were the only players to take a three-pointer.
Texas ended up 3-12 on threes, but there were about 15 more threes available during the game. Meanwhile, Iowa State routinely cut off Texas’ runs with threes, going 8-20 from downtown.
Texas Still Had Chances To Win
Iowa State outscored the Longhorns by three points in the first quarter and one point in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into halftime.
Texas battled back throughout the third quarter, getting within one point. But, there was a backbreaking play at the end of the quarter. After the Cyclones missed a shot, Texas’ Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau tried an outlet pass for a quick shot to perhaps take the lead, but Iowa State’s Bridget Carleton stole the ball and nailed a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer.
This allowed Iowa State to keep their four-point lead going into the final quarter. But, Texas fought back and finally took the lead at 60-58.
Unfortunately, Iowa State called a timeout and promptly went on a 9-0 run to take a 67-60 lead. During that stretch, Texas returned to their tentative ways on offense.
The Horns drew within 68-66 with less than 45 seconds left. Then, they played solid defense to get the ball back. But, Texas could not figure out the play they wanted to run to tie or take the lead. Ariel Atkins ended up taking a contested shot at the basket where she appeared to get fouled. But, the fall was not called and the Cyclones grabbed the rebound.
Bridget Carleton, who hit the backbreaking three at the end of the third quarter, then made two free throws to seal the game.
Texas and Iowa State both scored 21 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Cyclones to win by the magic number of four points.
What’s Next for Texas Women’s Basketball?
The Longhorns have to regroup after losing three straight games. It’s been a very difficult stretch for Texas with two games against Top 5 Baylor, a double overtime road game against Top 5 Florida State, a road loss at Oklahoma, and now a home loss against Iowa State.
Iowa State was playing for their NCAA Tournament lives against Texas. A big road win over the Top 10 Longhorns will look good on their resume. Plus, the Cyclones are feeling good about themselves having won four in a row after beating Texas.
For the Longhorns, though, the recent schedule and the grind of the Big 12 conference seem to be catching up to the team.
After starting 14-0 in Big 12 play, the Longhorns are now 14-3 and have to travel to Kansas State on Monday to finish out the regular season. They desperately need that win to feel good about themselves again.
Then, it’s the Big 12 Conference tournament, where they should end up a #2 seed. The #1 seed is gone after losing tonight. They just have to hold off Oklahoma chasing them from third place.
Next: Here's All The Streaks Texas Broke vs. Baylor in Waco
We’ll see what happens Monday night if Texas can start another winning streak after yet another tough loss for Karen Aston’s team.