Texas Women Set To Open Big 12 Play vs. Oklahoma State

No. 12 Longhorns will likely be missing some players due to COVID-19, after cancelling Wednesday's game vs. Alcorn State

The No. 12 Texas Longhorn women will begin Big 12 Conference slate with a Jan. 2 showdown against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma at 2 p.m.

The Longhorns (9-1) will likely do so short-handed due to COVID-19.

Texas head coach Vic Schaefer talked with the Austin American-Statesman’s Danny Davis and the rest of the Austin-based media during a Zoom call on Friday. Schaefer said the program would have enough players to take the floor on Sunday but didn’t reveal who might miss the game. He did say that the team is fully vaccinated but did not say many players had booster shots.

The Longhorns had to cancel their final non-conference game against Alcorn State, scheduled for Wednesday, due to COVID-19 issues within the program.

Per recent changes to the Big 12’s return to play rules, the Longhorns must have at least six eligible scholarship players and one eligible coach available on Sunday. Schaefer confirmed that he will be on the bench on Sunday.

The Longhorns defeated Princeton, 70-53, in their last outing on Dec. 22. Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 18. Rori Harmon’s performance in that game led to her being named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

Texas goes into the game with four players averaging at least 10 points per game — guard Aliyah Matharu (a team-leading 16 points per game), Harmon (11.7 points per game), Allen-Taylor (10.7 points per game) and forward DeYona Gaston (10 points per game).

Forward Lauren Ebo leads the Longhorns with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Gaston averages 4.9 rebounds per game, and both Harmon and Latasha Lattimore averaged 4.7 rebounds per game. Harmon has a team-leading 51 assists, and her 5.1 assists per game is second in the country in the Big 12 and among NCAA Division I freshmen.

Oklahoma State (5-4) has had COVID issues of its own. The Cowgirls haven’t played a game since Dec. 17 and cancelled their final two non-conference games.

While Texas has a 39-16 edge in the all-time series, Oklahoma State snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Longhorns with a 68-51 win last January. Lauren Fields is OSU’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game. She is the only Cowgirl averaging double figures this season.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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