Longhorns Set For Two Games In Three Days vs. Baylor

This was supposed to be a full week off for the Texas women. But, thanks to Baylor’s COVID-19 pause, the No. 13 Longhorns are preparing to play No. 9 Baylor twice in three days, starting on Friday night in Waco.

Friday’s game is at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Sunday’s game in Austin is at 3 p.m.

This is a big week for Big 12 women’s basketball, perhaps the biggest week so far. On Wednesday, Iowa State defeated Kansas State, while Baylor fell to Oklahoma. After those games, Iowa State and Oklahoma remained a game ahead of the pack, which includes both Texas (15-4, 5-3 in Big 12) and Baylor (15-5, 5-3). Worse for the Longhorns and the Bears, they’re a combined 0-3 against Oklahoma. The Sooners swept the Bears and face the Longhorns later this month.

It's now possible that both teams could be two games back of the Cyclones and Sooners, if they split those two games and ISU and OU both win on Saturday. If either Texas or Baylor sweep the other, it’s possible the loser falls out of the league race completely.

The stakes are high, especially for Baylor, which has a decade-long streak of winning the Big 12 regular-season crown.

The Longhorns would be in better position had it not been for their 65-63 loss to Oklahoma on Sunday. The Longhorns played a tight game, but a Liz Scott layup with four seconds left gave the Sooners the victory. Sandwiched around that were missed opportunities. The Longhorns had three chances to take the lead in the final seconds but missed all three shots. In fact, Texas had a disastrous stretch in which it failed to make a field goal in the final four minutes.

To bounce back from that, Texas coach Vic Schaefer will lean on Aliyah Matharu, who leads the Longhorns with 15.2 points per game. She also leads the Longhorns with 34 made 3-pointers. Three other Longhorns score in double figures — Joanne Allen-Taylor (11.4), Rori Harmon (10.9) and DeYona Gaston 10.0). Laruen Ebo leads Texas averaging 6.5 rebounds, but Harmon and Gaston grab more than four per game.

Baylor saw its five-game winning streak end with the 78-77 loss to Oklahoma. The Bears’ starting five is as good as any in the conference, led by defending Wade Trophy winner NaLyssa Smith, who averages 20.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. Also in the starting lineup are guards Jordan Lewis, Sarah Andrews and Ja’Mee Asberry, along with center Queen Egbo. Andrews averages 12.5 points, Lewis averages 11.9 points and five assists, while Ego averages 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds. Asberry averages 9.7 points.

Andrews and Asberry have also made more than 40 3-pointers each.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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