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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The sixth-seeded Texas Women's Basketball team continued its impressive run through the 2021 NCAA Tournament, taking down No. 2 seed Maryland, 64-61, at the Alamodome on Sunday night. The win pushed Texas forward into the Elite 8 for the 10th time in program history, and marks the Longhorns' first Regional final appearance since 2016.
While the night ended triumphantly for Texas, it didn't come without plenty of grit and tenacity after a rocky start for the Longhorns.
Maryland jumped on the Longhorns quickly, going on a 9-0 run to start the first quarter and force Texas head coach Vic Schaefer to take a timeout less than three minutes into the contest. Schaefer and Co. went to work after that break, however, scrapping back into the game with a 10-0 run in Texas' favor. As the teams battled back and forth, the Terrapins grabbed control of a 32-25 halftime lead.
The second half, and especially the third quarter, belonged to a Texas team playing in front of raucous Lone Star State crowd inside the Alamodome. In that third quarter, the Longhorns outscored Maryland, 24-15, to soar to a 49-47 advantage heading into the final frame.
The teams continued to trade buckets throughout the fourth quarter, and a Maryland layup gave the Terrapins a 59-57 lead with 1:21 remaining, forcing Schaefer and the Longhorns to take another timeout.
The anticipation amongst the UT faithful in the crowd reached its peak coming out of that timeout, as a trip to the Elite 8 rested solely in the hands of the young Longhorns. And from that group, it was sophomore Celeste Taylor who delivered the game-tying shot as she buried a mid-range jumper from off the right elbow. Immediately afterward, Lauren Ebo stole the ball away at mid-court and point guard Kyra Lambert took it uncontested for a layup that gave Texas the lead for the final time.
Taylor had another stat-stuffing night for the Longhorns, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to post her fourth career double-double (third this season). She also notched four assists and one steal on Sunday.
In addition, Lambert, Joanne Allen-Taylor and Charli Collier also scored in double figures. Lambert finished with 10 points, Allen-Taylor with 14 to go along with five assists and Collier scored 16 points to go with 11 rebounds. It marked Collier's 19th double-double of the season, tied for the second-most by any Division I player. She also blocked one shot and logged one steal.
Entering Sunday night's contest, Maryland was the national leader in team scoring average at 91.8 points per game. The Longhorns' defense held their opponents more than 30 points underneath that average.
The Longhorns will now turn their 'Texas Fight' toward the No. 1 seed in the Hemisfair Region, South Carolina. Texas and South Carolina are scheduled to meet Tuesday night in the Alamodome, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Texas Women's Basketball Postgame Notes
(6) Texas 64, (2) #7/8 Maryland 61
Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
March 28, 2021
Team Notes
• Secured Texas' 10th all-time appearance in the Elite 8, and first since 2016.
• Marks the first time the Longhorns have made it to the Elite 8 as lower than a No. 3 seed.
• Improved to 2-4 all-time and 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament vs. Maryland.
• Held the Terrapins to a season-low 61 points – more than 30 points below Maryland's season scoring average entering the game (91.8 ppg).
• Limited Maryland to just 29 points in the second half, the Terrapins' lowest-scoring half of the season.
• Marked the 11th time in last 12 games that Texas has held its opponent underneath its season scoring average. Only Iowa State hit its season scoring mark in an overtime matchup during the Big 12 tournament.
• Improved to 5-4 in games against teams that currently rank in the top-25 nationally in scoring offense this season.
• Was Texas' second-straight win over a team ranked in the Associated Press top-10, the first time UT has bested top-10 foes in back-to-back games since Nov./Dec. of the 2015-16 season. Then, the Longhorns won at No. 4/5 Tennessee on Nov. 29 followed by a win over No. 9/9 Mississippi State in their next outing on Dec. 2.
Joanne Allen-Taylor
• Has started all 30 games this season.
• Scored in double figures for the 27th time in her career, and 23rd time this season.
• Marked her 13th game of the season with at least three assists.
Charli Collier
• Started her 60th consecutive game, dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.
• Logged her 35th career double-double and 19th of the season – tied for the second most by any Division I player.
Kyra Lambert
• Started for the 26th consecutive game, dating back to Dec. 9, vs. Idaho.
• Scored in double figures for the third time in her last five games after doing so just four times in her first 23 games of the season.
Celeste Taylor
• Logged her 25th start of the season, and 19th consecutive.
• Posted her fourth career double-double, and third this season.
• Scored in double figures for the 20th time this year, and 35th time in her career.
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March 29, 2021 at 12:33PM
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Women's Basketball headed back to Elite 8 - University of Texas Athletics - TexasSports.com
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