Sophomore guard Ariel Atkins went from sitting on the sideline while rehabbing an injury to leading the Texas women’s basketball team to victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Texas, seeded in the Sioux Falls bracket, defeated No. 10 seed Mizzou, 73-55, Monday night in Austin behind Atkins’ 22 points and seven rebounds.
Atkins’ improvement this season has been a personal victory for her, but the team’s final goal of winning a championship is the driving force. The Longhorns now are one step closer to that goal.
“I always wanted to come back and contribute for my team,” Atkins said. “That was one of my main focal points. It’s hard mentally coming back from an injury, but my teammates talked me through it.”
With the victory, Texas advances to its 13th NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in program history. UT will play No. 3-seeded UCLA at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the Bridgeport Regional. The road hasn’t been easy, and Monday was no exception. Missouri boasted a starting lineup in which all five players were more than six feet tall; 6-foot-7-inch senior center Imani Boyette was the lone Longhorn starter over six feet. But the smaller UT guards rose to the challenge, holding Mizzou to 31 percent shooting from the field.
The Tigers’ accuracy from behind the arc was on display from the beginning, when Mizzou freshman guard Sophie Cunningham drilled two three-pointers in the first three minutes of the game. Texas responded with a 17-3 run to finish the first quarter with a 17-9 lead over the Tigers. Atkins said the team’s preparation for Missouri’s style of play helped Texas pull ahead in the first quarter and never relinquish the lead.
“I think we were kind of fast,” Atkins said. “We were hoping to disrupt (Missouri) a little bit. I don’t think they caught us off-guard — it was something the coaches saw and implemented … so we could do that.”
The Longhorns extended their lead in the second quarter with help from freshman guard Lashann Higgs’ contributions off the bench. Higgs scored six points in the quarter and stripped a ball from Mizzou that led to a three-pointer for senior guard Celina Rodrigo. Atkins hit two threes of her own, and UT headed to the lockers with a comfortable 36-21 berth. Texas outscored Mizzou in the paint, 22-0, by halftime.
Higgs’ energy was a vital part of Texas’ offensive production, and although she considers herself a defensive player, she attributed her success on offense to her teammates.
“I try to mainly focus on defense and try not to lose my man,” Higgs said. “I just listened to what the point guards and upperclassmen say and play as hard as I can and leave it all out there.”
Mizzou continued to strike from behind the arc, opening the third quarter with a three-pointer. The Tigers outscored the ‘Horns, 19-18, in the quarter to chip the deficit to 14 points. Cunningham drilled another three midway through the quarter en route to 23 points on the night, including 3-of-8 from three-point range. The star freshman was everything UT expected she would be and proved difficult to defend.
“From the scouting report, she was Sophie tonight,” Higgs said. “She’s a good guard. She’s strong, physical, she can shoot, she can drive.”
The Texas lead was too much for Mizzou to overcome, as UT continued to score in the fourth. Rodrigo and sophomore guard Brooke McCarty both drilled threes, and Atkins added a couple more buckets. Senior guard Brady Sanders took the court in Austin for the final time to a standing ovation in the last three minutes of the game.
“I just can’t say enough about how proud I am of this basketball team,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “We beat a really good team tonight — Missouri was really good. I looked at them on film extensively, saw them play live, and I was very, very impressed with them. Our defense really took them out of the things they do best.”
The Longhorns don’t have much time to rest on their laurels. Aston said that starting with UT’s game against UCLA, defense will play a large role in tournament play as Texas moves forward.
“Our team will be locked in,” Aston said. “(The players) understand that UCLA is really good. We have some answers for a lot of things defensively, because the ball is not always going to go in. You have to be able to defend people in a tournament, especially guards.”
With a full night of rest, the Longhorns are ready to get back to work and face the next obstacle in their quest for a championship.
“You don’t just show up and win 30 games in a season unless you’ve got players that are committed to work on a daily basis and you have coaches and staff members and support staff,” Aston said. “This was a job that (everyone) put a lot of work into, and tonight was a team that you just love to coach. I’m really excited to be in the Sweet Sixteen, I’m excited for our team and looking forward to moving on.”
Texas defeats Mizzou in NCAA second round, will face UCLA in Sweet Sixteen
Blanche Schaefer 