Texas was stumbling coming into Wednesday night’s tilt against TCU.
The women’s basketball team had lost two of its last three games, including a dazzling upset to unranked Texas Tech, and had fallen out of the AP Top 25.
But Texas had plenty of resolve and mental toughness against the middling Horned Frogs Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. Junior center Charli Collier’s 23 points and 20 rebounds helped power the Longhorns to a 71-54 win over Texas Tech as she became the first Longhorn to record a 20-point 20-rebound game in almost a decade. Collier grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and also knocked down 11 of her 13 free throws.
While she was proud of her effort, Collier intently focused on the fact that she shot under 30% from the field.
“The field goal percentage definitely has to go up some,” Collier said. “I’m my worst critic though, I had a 20-20 game. That’s rare, and not a lot of people do that, so I’m proud of my performance.”
Collier’s 6-22 shooting night can be attributed to the double and triple-teams she saw when she dug into the paint, but her effort on the boards often makes up for a missed shot, head coach Vic Schaefer said.
“She’s getting a lot of attention. She’s having to score in the forest because there are a lot of people close by,” Schaefer said. “But, man, 20 rebounds! That’s a full night’s work there.”
After giving up over 70 points in their previous three games, the Texas defense once again exhibited its swarming press that became a trademark in the early season. Texas forced 18 turnovers and turned miscues into 24 points.
“I feel like our press was really good,” Collier said. “We got a lot of five-second counts … we were up in the press. It’s frustrating for the other opponent when they can’t get the ball up the court.”
The bounce-back performance was a result of their hard work in practice, junior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor said.
“We had to respond after taking a hard loss to (Texas) Tech,” Allen-Taylor said. “I think we did that. We practice hard, and we just focus on the next one. That’s how we got the win.”
The aggressive defensive effort helped mask a poor shooting night all around for the Longhorns. Texas shot a paltry 34.8% from the field and 6-25 from three-point range.
But while the team struggled on the offensive end, Allen-Taylor and sophomore guard Celeste Taylor both shot over 50% on the night and controlled the offensive flow of the game.
“When your two wings go 11-for-21, that’s always a good sign,” Schaefer said. “(Allen-Taylor) and Celeste both had that, (Taylor shot) 6-for-11 and (Allen-Taylor shot) 5-for-10.”
Allen-Taylor said she is happy to have her running mate back after Taylor missed three games with a right foot injury.
“I love Celeste (Taylor). That’s my best friend,” Allen-Taylor said. “It feels so good playing with her. It takes a lot off my shoulders at the guard position and just the energy she brings. It’s just so relieving to have her back.”
