Texas falls short against Baylor in Big 12 tournament semifinals
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Baylor continues to have the Longhorns number when it comes to women's basketball. Texas put up a valiant effort, but came up short to the No. 6 Bears 66-55 in Saturday's Big 12 semifinal.
Baylor has won all of their meetings with Texas this season.
Longhorns junior star Charli Collier, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, was held to just three points in only 16 minutes of action.
In her three games against Baylor, Collier has scored two points, 12 points, and three points respectively.
"I think it's a combination of things but really you have to give your opponent credit," head coach Vic Schaefer said. "I just think there's a real competitive spirit between both teams, and both her and them, I think they get up for it."
Celeste Taylor stepped up for Texas, scoring 22 points to lead the team. Joanne Allen-Taylor continued her good streak of games, adding 18 points.
Texas won't get to sulk about this one for long, as they will now turn their attention to the NCAA tournament.
"We're pretty upset but at the end of the day we can't hang our heads, we've got to get back after it," Celeste Taylor said. "I think we're really focused after showing we can compete, we're just ready to go back in the gym and get after it."
Despite their struggles with Baylor, the Longhorns say they have a lot of confidence as they head to The Big Dance.
"I have a real deep appreciation for these kids because I know how hard they had to work to get to now," Schaefer added. "We've obviously now played Baylor twice in the last two weeks and really competed hard with them and I hope the committee will take that into consideration."
The Longhorns head coach notes that because he feels his team is playing well, that they can make some noise next week, and possibly beyond.
"It's all about getting hot and how you're playing this time of year and for us we've got to keep taking care of ourselves," Schaefer said. "They needed to grow a little bit since we've got here and I see it now, and that's what's fun about coaching, it's fun watching your kids evolve into the team you want to be."
Texas will find out their first round matchup during Monday night's Selection Show that can be seen on ESPN at 6pm.