Longhorns Ready to Close Drum, Head to KC

The No. 9 Texas Longhorns have plenty to play for before the Big 12 Women's Tournament next week.

But before the trip to Kansas City, the Longhorns (22-6, 12-5) say their final goodbye to the Frank Erwin Center, which has hosted Longhorns basketball since 1977. Texas hosts Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Saturday on the Longhorn Network.

The Erwin Center houses many of the the memories of the program’s historic run under legendary coach Jody Conradt (1976-2007). Conradt won 900 games, led the Longhorns to the 1986 NCAA Championship and oversaw a 12-year stretch in which Texas didn’t lose a conference game.

Rori Harmon

Joanne Allen-Taylor

That’s the standard second-year coach Vic Schaefer is shooting for. He’s already taken the Longhorns to one Elite Eight, which was their first trip that far into the NCAA Tournament since 2016 under Karen Aston.

Conradt took the Longhorns to the Elite Eight eight times.

All Schaefer is shooting for now is a win over the Cowgirls (8-18, 3-14), which could improve Texas’ seeding in the league tourney.

Texas could move up as high as a No. 2 seed or fall as far as a No. 4 seed, depending upon what happens Saturday. But Texas will need help to move up — either a loss by Iowa State or Oklahoma or both.

The Longhorns are in a good spot, regardless of their seed. Texas has won seven straight games, the last being 70-60 over Kansas on Wednesday. As it has been the past few weeks, the seniors have led the way for the Longhorns.

Guard Joanne Allen-Taylor led Texas with 20 points, including some key free throws down the stretch. Forward Lauren Ebo had 12 points and seven rebounds, along with a key blocked shot in the final minutes.

Vic Schaefer

Allen-Taylor is averaging 11.1 points, while Ebo is averaging 7.5 points and seven rebounds. The pair are among a half-dozen Longhorns that are averaging at least seven points. The others are guard Aliyah Matharu (13.1), guard Rori Harmon (10.3), guard Audrey Warren (9.0) and forward DeYona Gaston (7.9).

Texas opened its Big 12 slate on Jan. 2 against OSU, with the Longhorns winning 62-51. The Cowgirls have lost four consecutive games, including 79-76 to Oklahoma on Wednesday.

Lauren Fields is OSU’s top scorer, averaging 16.6 points. She also averages 4.1 rebounds. Lexy Keys averages 10 points. Taylen Collins averages 8.8 points and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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