No. 3 Texas grinds out 65-58 win over No. 5 LSU with ‘really special’ 4th quarter

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After trailing by as much as 12 points and needing to find an answer for their offensive struggles, No. 3 Texas got it done from the foul line against No. 5 Louisiana State.

The Longhorns were perfect from the stripe, going 21-for-21 including 17-for-17 in the second half, to help erase a double-digit deficit and top the Tigers 65-58 in Southeastern Conference women’s basketball action Sunday at Moody Center.

After shooting 19% from the field in the first half, it looked like getting to 40 points would be an accomplishment for the Longhorns. However, they turned things around in the second half with a 54% effort from the field and good old-fashioned toughness.

“What a special group of young ladies. Incredible toughness today, y’all. It wasn’t our best day,” Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer said. “We certainly had our struggles today for three quarters, but the fourth quarter was really special.”

Texas outscored LSU 21-9 in the final frame to win its 10th consecutive game, and as great players do, sophomore forward Madison Booker found a way to make an impact when she wasn’t at her best. She scored a team-high 16 points on just 3-for-17 shooting, but she was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line, 8-for-8 in the second half, to lead the way.

Rori Harmon overcame a 1-for-6 shooting performance in the first half and hit two crucial buckets down the stretch to keep Texas in front and finish with 10 points.

Kyla Oldacre had a putback bucket right before the third-quarter buzzer to pull Texas within five at 49-44, and the Longhorns started the fourth with a 9-0 run capped by a Jordan Lee 3-pointer to take a 53-49 lead with 5:07 remaining.

“I told them between the third and fourth quarter that they were good shooters, but to toughen up and make a shot,” Schaefer said. “We were getting pretty good looks, but they stepped up. I thought they were so tough, and they know how important that is to me.”

Coming into the game, the Longhorns led the country in points in the paint average, but a stout LSU frontcourt put the clamps on that. The Tigers outscored Texas 24-22 in the area led by Aneesah Morrow’s 15 points and 20 rebounds to go with Sa’Myah Smith’s three blocked shots. Mikaylah Williams led the Tigers with 18 points and Flau’Jae Johnson poured in 16.

The teams made and attempted the same amount of field goals, 21-for-63, making the biggest difference come from the foul line. The Tigers were 13-for-19 on free throws.

The turnaround from a dismal first half took a little bit for Texas, but once Booker made her first shot 40 seconds into the second half after starting 0-for-11, things started to turn around.

Texas went on an 8-0 run to start the third, forcing Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey to burn a timeout early to settle things down. It worked, leading to a 9-0 LSU run to stretch their lead back to 39-29 with 5:57 left. Texas worked the deficit back to 49-44 on Oldacre’s bucket at the buzzer, setting the stage for the big final frame.

Mulkey said she thought the difference in the game was that Texas executed plays down the stretch. She also said she should have subbed her perimeter players more often than she did.

“You have to execute and be extremely tough when it requires you to be your toughest,” she said. “The toughness and the ability to execute when it got to be crunch time I thought was the difference.”

Texas (26-2, 12-1 SEC) is still alive for the SEC regular season title with a half-game lead over South Carolina after Sunday’s play. The Gamecocks had a bye in SEC play Sunday and got blown out at home by No. 7 UConn 87-58, ending South Carolina’s 71-game home winning streak.

The Longhorns take on Georgia in Athens on Feb. 24. This is the first time all season Texas doesn’t have a midweek game, so the players will get some much-needed time to heal and recover from whatever ails them.

LSU (25-2, 10-2) hosts Georgia on Thursday.

Schaefer was baffled by how the game played out. The only way he could explain how his team seemingly flipped a switch to win mode was that “the game honors toughness.”

“We stayed in the fight,” Schaefer said. “I haven’t seen a lot of things like this. It’s a testament to their character and who they are.”

Tournament selection committee tabs Texas as a No. 1 seed

Before Sunday’s play began, the NCAA tournament selection committee released its projected top 16 seeds for March Madness, and Texas held up to its lofty status.

The committee has the Longhorns seeded No. 3 overall, making them a top seed in the Birmingham B regional. LSU was seeded No. 6 overall and a No. 2 seed in the Spokane A regional.

UCLA was given the top overall seed with South Carolina at No. 2. Notre Dame was the other No. 1 seed at No. 4 overall.

The committee makes its final selections March 16 and the First Four play-in games are March 18-19.

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