Aaliyah Crump's performance leads Texas to a revenge win against No.5 LSU

Texas women's basketball hosted the No.5 LSU Tigers at the Moody Center last night in what was one of the biggest SEC games of the week. After a massive win against the Oklahoma Sooners this past Sunday, you knew the Longhorns were motivated for the game. The Longhorns turned it around in the second quarter as they went on to defeat the Tigers 77-64. What a heck of a basketball game on ESPN. If Aaliyah Crump hadn't shown up yesterday with her performance, LSU would have snapped Texas' home winning streak.

You know the game was going to be good when you have Texas Football head coach Steve Sarkisian in the front row. It was truly a matchup for the ages and one that really could have gone either way.

Even though the Tigers lost the game, I hope Texas is ready for another matchup with them in the SEC women's basketball tournament if that comes to pass.

Here are four takeaways from tonight's game in Austin:

1. First quarter was 50/50

I was expecting to see the Longhorns struggle against the Tigers in the first period, since that's how the previous game started. There were times during the first quarter last night when Texas's defense wasn't great, and the Tigers took advantage. The fact that the Longhorns' deficit was only 4 points after ten minutes was excellent. However, one thing the Longhorns need to take away from the game is that they need to set the defensive tone in the first quarter.

2. Help Madison Booker out

Another thing that needs to be fixed is helping Madison Booker out by producing offense from other players. It seemed like in the first half of last night's game, the Longhorns relied on her way too much. Booker can only take the team so far in terms of offensive production.

Other players have to step up and make sure she's not carrying the team on her back. Crump began to show up in the second quarter, making baskets. Let's try to take the pressure off of Booker moving forward.

3. Crump needs a lot more playing time

Aaliyah Crump needs to be on the court more than she is right now—nothing against what Rori Harmon has done during her career at Texas. I think it's time to give Crump more playing time so she's a more seasoned player when she takes over the point guard position next season. The way she played in the second quarter to get Texas back in the game is the kind of energy the Longhorns need on the floor at key moments. It will be one of the games fans will look back on as a coming-out party for Crump's stardom as a college basketball player

4. Taking advantage of LSU going cold in fourth quarter

LSU could not buy a basket at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and I was thrilled to see the Longhorns take advantage of that by building their lead. You never know with Kim Mulkey and her squad whether they can come back swinging with less than five minutes left in a game. Texas got the lead to 14, and you could tell at that point the Longhorns were in complete control for the remainder of the matchup.

The Longhorns are back at the Moody Center on SuperBowl Sunday as they host the Kentucky Wildcats.