No. 8 Texas has lost to four different teams this season, but TCU was different.
When TCU sophomore guard Kianna Ray hit a pair of free throws to take a 79-77 lead over the Longhorns on Jan. 10 in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs became the first non-ranked team of the year to beat Texas. The loss stung.
“You definitely feel a little more motivated,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said on Saturday. “We wanted to win today.”
Texas got its revenge on Saturday in a 92-65 win over No. 22 TCU at the Frank Erwin Center.
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The Longhorns set the tone defensively from the opening possession.
TCU won the tip and gave junior center Jordan Moore control on the first shot of the game. Moore drove into the lane but was met by senior forward Audrey-Ann Caron Goudreau. Moore raised her arms for a layup. Caron-Goudreau did the same to stop it and knocked the ball away.
Junior guard Lashann Higgs missed a jumpshot on the next play, and the Horned Frogs zoomed back down on offense. This time, TCU sophomore forward Adeola Akomolafe took her turn to drive inside. Caron-Goudreau swatted the ball again.
“She helps us a lot,” senior guard Ariel Atkins said. “I think she’s taken it personal that we haven’t particularly guarded posts well in the past. She’s been doing things in the game that haven’t been showing up on the stat sheet … It’s just a credit to her and her attention to detail.”
The Horned Frogs struggled to score for the rest of the first quarter. A pair of free throws from freshman guard Lauren Heard and a layup from junior guard Dakota Vann were the only shots that fell in.
Texas went into the second quarter with a 27-4 lead. TCU had more turnovers — seven — than it did points.
The defensive prowess wasn’t sustainable, even as the Longhorns began utilizing a full-court press. The Horned Frogs scored 20 points in the second quarter, but by then the game had already been decided.
Atkins and fellow senior guard Brooke McCarty led the team with 16 points each. The duo had an answer for every puzzling defender TCU threw their way.
“I had a talk with Coach this week and my teammates this week and it’s just — I’m thinking too much,” McCarty said. “(Today) I think I just fed off of my teammates and just kind of let everything go out the window.”
Caron-Goudreau finished with seven points, four rebounds and a career-high six blocks. The victory proved to the team how dominant Texas can be.
“I thought our team was pretty special today,” Aston said. “Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm, shared the ball and really seemed somewhat connected. I could nitpick on a few things, but I did think that, for the most part, it was a pretty complete performance for our team.”
The Longhorns will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, on Monday to take on the Mountaineers. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.