Texas had their work cut out for them when No. 24 Missouri came to town Saturday night. The Tigers were 3-0 in conference and ranked for the first time since 1985. But the Texas women have never been knocked off by Missouri at home, and they managed to keep it that way, winning 63-54 with a superb defensive effort in the second half.
"Texas did a lot of things to take us out of our rhythm tonight," Missouri head coach Cindy Stein said. "For the first time all year, I thought we lost our poise."
Texas has a roster full of young talent but has been hurt by injuries and fallen from the rankings. Missouri was the fifth ranked team the 8-6 Longhorns have faced and the first they've defeated.
Both squads started sluggishly, shooting a combined 0-10 from the floor, and for the first 12 minutes the lead went back and forth. Missouri got on track first, taking advantage of an abundance of Texas fouls and turnovers. They led 37-30 at the half and appeared to have gained momentum. Tiffany Brooks was a powerful defensive weapon, picking off three separate passes and turning them into fast break points.
Carlynn Savant sunk two 3-pointers early in the second half to give Missouri a 51-40 lead with 13 minutes left. Then the Texas defense stepped up. Missouri missed its next 13 shots and committed five turnovers. After LaToya Bond's lay-up with 11:20 to go, the Tigers failed to score again until there were 40 seconds on the clock and the game was out of reach. Even those two final points came from the free throw line.
Savant was responsible for four of the 3-pointers and paced the team with 14 points. Tiffany Brooks and Bond each had 12. Christelle N'Garsanet's nine rebounds led Missouri.
With the loss, Missouri fell to 3-1 in the Big 12 and is now second to 3-0 Oklahoma.
Tiffany Jackson combined with Nina Norman and Ashley Lindsey to provide most of the firepower for the Texas comeback.
Jackson started 0-5 from the floor but was a strong presence defensively and at the boards all night. The All-American finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 6 steals.
"I think you have to be impressed with the kind of energy Tiffany has brought to the floor the last two nights," Conradt said.
Lindsey said her 16-point performance - a career high - was a direct result of the leadership provided by the senior forward.
"I just tried to keep encouraging them that if we keep fighting, we'll get back in it," Jackson said.
They got back in it and won it. For Missouri, now 0-8 in Austin, history repeated itself, and they noticed.
"We don't like coming to Texas," Stein said. "We're not going to hide that fact."
Slow start in a tough conference
The Longhorns lost their first two conference games this year for the first time in their 10 years of Big 12 play. In 14 years of Southwest Conference play, Texas never dropped their first two. After a 70-61 defeat by Kansas, Conradt's squad had to travel up I-35 to take on the defending national champion Baylor Bears and lost 61-48 win.
The day before taking on Baylor, Carla Cortijo and Earnesia Williams - two projected starters - underwent knee surgery, a reminder of how hard the injury bug has bitten.
Texas got the first conference win in convincing fashion, beating Iowa State 80-50 at the Erwin Center. Senior Daria Mieloszynska was the surprise star, making 6-of-11 shots from behind the arch for a career-high 18 points. The win snapped a three-game losing streak.
With that win, Conradt tied men's coach Adolph Rupp for third place in college basketball career wins with 876. The win over Missouri gave her in sole possession of that spot.
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