McCarty’s 17 lead No. 6 Texas past No. 21 Oklahoma State
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) Texas was ready for Oklahoma State and freshman guard Braxtin Miller this time.
Brooke McCarty scored 17 points to help No. 6 Texas defeat the 21st-ranked Cowgirls 77-62 on Saturday.
Miller scored 23 points in the first matchup between the teams on Jan. 3, when Texas escaped with an 84-79 win. She scored just 12 on 4 for 13 shooting in the rematch.
''She was really good in Austin,'' Texas coach Karen Aston said. ''Obviously, our players had not seen her before. She's an impressive freshman to me. I had been impressed with her on film. Once you've played somebody, you kind of understand that a little bit better. Our players had a better grasp of her today.''
Ariel Atkins scored 15 points, Jatarie White scored 12 and Joyner Holmes added 10 for the Longhorns on Saturday. Texas (22-4, 13-2 Big 12) outrebounded the Cowgirls 44-37 to win its seventh straight game.
Texas led just 21-20 after a quarter, but the Longhorns outscored the Cowgirls 34-21 in the middle two quarters to take control. Aston said seniors McCarty and Atkins played key roles.
''Brooke and Ariel, obviously, the older, experienced guards, know not to get down,'' she said. ''When things don't go well, they don't panic. I think they find times to take control of our team.''
Loryn Goodwin led Oklahoma State with 21 points, but she made just 8 of 23 shots. Kaylee Jensen had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but she made just 5 for 13 shots. The Cowgirls (18-8, 9-6) shot just 35 percent overall.
It was a rough week for Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls lost to No. 3 Baylor 87-45 on Tuesday night. Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell said the team still is well-positioned to reach its goals.
''We're still in a situation where we control our own destiny,'' Littell said. ''We've got to put these two games behind us. There's going to be more teams in this league that lose to Baylor and Texas than not.''
BIG PICTURE
Texas: The Longhorns got another quality win and built some momentum heading into the game with Baylor. Texas lost the first matchup to Baylor 81-56 on Jan. 25.
''We have to have a better effort,'' Aston said. ''We have to be a lot more competitive than we were in Waco.''
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls won't take much of a hit in the polls for losing to two Top 10 teams, thought they would have preferred to have been more competitive.
UP NEXT:
Texas hosts Baylor on Monday.
Oklahoma State plays at Kansas on Wednesday.
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