DALLAS - She's been a Longhorn and part of the Big 12 Tournament longer than anyone else on her team.
It was that experience and collected nature of Stacy Stephens that helped propel Texas to a 63-59 lead over the Baylor Bears last night, sending the Longhorns to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament for the second year in a row.
With 35 seconds remaining in the game, Stephens - the lone senior on the team - hit a clutch two-pointer to give Texas a two-possession lead at 61-57. Stephens, who scored 14 points in 16 minutes of play during the first half, was almost a non-factor in the last 20 minutes of the game. Stephens played only five minutes after receiving two fouls in a span of 17 seconds to start the second period. She ended the game with 16 points and seven rebounds in a total of 21 minutes of playing time.
"Going out was really tough, because when you see that you want to be out there helping your team as much as possible, but knowing that I wouldn't get to go back in anytime soon, I made sure that I stayed focused," Stephens said. "Me and Jody Bell and the rest of the bench were probably the biggest cheerleaders anywhere in the arena, just trying to keep the enthusiasm going and keep everybody motivated when they came out. It's just a matter of staying focused, and when it got to me, I knew we needed a shot, and so I took it. Thankfully it fell."
In last year's championship game of the Big 12 Tournament, Stephens was once again plagued by foul trouble. It didn't stop the center though from bringing the Longhorns back after being down by nine against Texas Tech in the second half. Stephens scored eight consecutive points, scoring 13 of her 16 points in the game.
"It's always difficult for us when we lose Stacy, because she's our only senior, and she's the most experienced player, and she's our go-to player in those kinds of situations," head coach Jody Conradt said.
Texas and Baylor are used to playing games against each other that go down to the wire. Earlier this year, the two teams met in Austin for a double-overtime 73-72 Longhorn win. Stephens again was the Achilles heal for the Bears as the Winnsboro native had a career-high 22 rebounds and a career-best five steals.
If it were up to Stephens though, she would prefer to play a tight-knit game rather than winning by 20 points.
"These games are always really fun," Stephens said. "It's what you come out and play the game for, for the tough competition, and the close games where you have to your entire body and mind into every play. That's what makes it fun, and I think the whole team would agree with me."
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