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UT Women Snap Nine Game Losing Skid

Updated: Sunday, January 27 2013, 10:35 AM CST
The Texas Womens Basketball team used strong post presence and stout defensive and rebounding efforts to down Kansas State, 59-40, for a Big 12 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Erwin Center.

Junior forward Nneka Enemkpali recorded her ninth double-double of the season with a team-high 20 points and 16 rebounds. Texas used its height to control the boards throughout the game, outrebounding Kansas State 47-26 and outscoring the Wildcats 34-10 in the paint.

Freshman center Imani McGee-Stafford logged her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Texas had two players record double-doubles in a game for the third time this season, all by Enemkpali and McGee-Stafford.

Kansas State (12-8, 3-5 Big 12), who was sinking a Big 12-leading 9.4 shots from behind the arc per game coming into today, drained five first-half three-pointers to jump out to an early 22-13 lead. Senior guard Brittany Chambers led the first-half attack with eight points.

Enemkpali and McGee-Stafford provided the Longhorns answer, towering over Kansas State and racking up 18 of Texas 24 first-half points. The duo led UT on an 11-4 run to put the Longhorns down just two points heading into the locker room.

Texas (8-11, 1-7 Big 12) overpowered the Wildcats in the second half, using a 20-3 run over the first 11 minutes to take a commanding 44-29 lead. After opening the game with hot shooting, Kansas State missed 18 of its next 20 three-point attempts and was held scoreless for nearly seven minutes. KSUs 14 second-half points were the fewest allowed by Texas in a Big 12 half this season, and the fewest second-half points allowed all season.

Kansas State got back on track late in the game, sinking three straight 3-point attempts, but Texas answered with jumpers from freshman guard Empress Davenport to keep the lead at 15 points. The second half surge was a balanced attack of low-post dominance and timely outside shots from Davenport, junior guard Chassidy Fussell, and freshman guard Brady Sanders. Fussell also reached double figures, finishing with 10 points.

Chambers and Brianna Craig led the Wildcats with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Texas heads to Fort Worth for its first-ever conference matchup with TCU on Saturday, Feb. 2. The game will be televised nationally at 11:30 a.m. by FSN.UT Women Snap Nine Game Losing Skid