The third time wasn’t a charm for the Longhorns on Wednesday, but the fourth needs to be come Sunday.
Texas (9-14, 2-10) will carry a three-game losing skid into its matchup with Texas Tech (18-7, 8-5) this weekend after suffering a 21-point loss to Kansas State. The loss gave the Longhorns a 1-5 record on the road in Big 12 play this season, which raised some concern for head coach Karen Aston.
“I thought this was probably as lackluster of a performance from our team that I have seen definitely in conference play,” Aston said after the loss to the Wildcats. “We just did not compete tonight at all. They were a million times more competitive than our team was.”
In their last meeting with the Red Raiders, the Longhorns entered the game on a four-game conference losing streak before dropping the contest by a narrow, 66-59 margin. Inexperience had a great deal to do with the first loss, but this time around a lack of cohesion won’t do for the Longhorns’ head coach.
After earning Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors for the fourth time last week, Imani McGee-Stafford left a lot to be desired against Kansas State. Her 20 points and 12 rebounds kept the Longhorns in the game against Tech last time out and the ball will most likely find her hands a great deal on Saturday.
Another player to watch in this matchup will be freshman Empress Davenport, who has scored in double figures in three consecutive games. She will also be expected to carry a big load on the defensive end as she will be matched up with guard Chynna Brown, who is averaging 12.2 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting.
Brown had 20 points against Texas in their matchup Jan. 16, but poor shooting down the stretch is what sealed its fate that night. After attempting just five three-pointers against Kansas State, expect Texas to come out firing from the field to get McGee-Stafford and Nneka Enemkpali easier looks inside.
Texas will need to find their heart and their shooting touch if they want to escape Lubbock with a win this weekend.
Published on February 15, 2013 as "Aston raises concerns".
