The Missouri State Lady Bears got their 2007-08 season off to a rough start with a 92-55 setback to #22 Texas Sunday (Nov. 11) in women’s college basketball action in Austin, Texas. Led by Brittainey Raven's career-high 22-point effort, the Longhorns (1-0) hit 29-of-33 free-throw attempts and shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field to spoil new Missouri State head coach Nyla Milleson’s debut.
Texas seized control of the contest with an 18-0 scoring run, aided by a sluggish Missouri State offense that connected on just three of its first 23 field-goal attempts while committing 12 turnovers in the first seven minutes of the ballgame. After a pair of Maggie Dwyer free throws evened the score at 4-4 with 17:37 left on the clock, the Longhorns turned up the defensive pressure over the next four minutes to build a 22-4 advantage. Senior guard Earneisha Bailey, who tallied all eight of her first-half points during the run, knocked down a three-pointer at the 13:00 mark to stretch the UT lead to 19-4, then converted a three-point play on the Horns next offensive possession to push the margin to 18 points.
The Longhorns led by as many as 22 in the first half, before settling for a 41-23 lead at the break. Raven led the way with 11 points for UT, as the Lady Bears turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 24.2 percent (8-of 33) from the floor in the opening half.
Missouri State cut into the Texas lead by scoring the first five points of the second half, pulling to within 41-28 on Tahnee Balerio’s three-pointer from the right wing with 18:41 to play.
But the Longhorns answered at the foul line, hitting 20-of-22 free throws in the second half. Sophomore guard Carla Cortijo converted all seven of her second-half free-throw attempts and finished 10-of-11 from the line.
Raven led a balanced scoring attack with 22 points, while Cortijo added 17 to go along with seven assists. Sophomore Ashley Lindsey chipped in 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Balerio paced the Lady Bears with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range, while Dwyer added 16 points in her Missouri State debut.
The Lady Bears (0-1) will be back in action next Saturday (Nov. 17) when they host Green Bay at 1:05 p.m. in the 32nd and final home opener at Hammons Student Center.
