Longhorn Women Win To End Two-Game Big 12 Skid

Aliyah Matharu pours in 26 points as Texas prepares for huge conference showdown with Iowa State

The Texas Longhorns ended their two-game Big 12 losing streak on Saturday night, claiming a 73-57 win over West Virginia at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

The No. 13 Longhorns (12-3, 2-2 in Big 12) stopped the bleeding with another fine performance from their leading scorer, Aliyah Matharu, who finished with 26 points.

The win keeps the Longhorns within two games of front-running Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference race as Texas prepares to face the Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Matharu shot 50 percent for the contest and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. She was one of four Longhorns in double figures.

Audrey Warren poured in 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Rori Harmon scored 11 points on 50 percent shooting while leading the Longhorns with nine rebounds and three assists. Lauren Ebo pitched in 10 points and nine rebounds. She made all eight free throws.

West Virginia (8-6, 1-3) was coming off its first conference win earlier in the week but couldn’t slow down Texas and lost one of their best players, Esmery Martinez, to foul trouble. She played just 18 minutes and scored two points before fouling out. Without Martinez, Texas had a 35-24 edge on the glass.

KK Deans and Ja'Naiya Quinerly led West Virginia with 19 points each.

Texas got off to a strong start, grabbing a 19-15 lead after the end of the first quarter and then a 39-25 lead at halftime. While Texas and West Virginia shot practically the same percentage from the floor, Texas held a significant edge at the free-throw line (12 to 4) and forced the Mountaineers into 11 first-half turnovers, while the Longhorns committed just five.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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