How Sweet 16 it is for Baylor after hard-fought win over USC
AUSTIN — Texas coach Karen Aston came to the Longhorns five years ago with a goal of setting a standard of excellence for the program.
Three consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 set a pretty nice bar.
Brooke McCarty scored 23 points, and third-seeded Texas got a put-back basket from Joyner Holmes with four seconds remaining to give the Longhorns an 84-80 victory over No. 6 North Carolina State on Sunday, earning another trip deep into the NCAA Tournament in the Lexington Regional.
“Stringing along these Sweet 16s, it’s the standard here,” McCarty said. “This is what you do. You come here to do this.”
This one took some big plays and big shots from the Big 12 player of the year to dig Texas (25-8) out from a second-half deficit and carry the Longhorns past two outstanding scoring efforts from Wolfpack guards Miah Spencer (31 points) and Dominique Wilson (27).
But Spencer fouled out with a minute left when she tangled with McCarty away from the ball, and Wilson’s go-ahead basket with eight seconds left was waived off on a charging call.
McCarty said she was trying to tangle up Spencer to get her out of the game. Her two free throws after the foul gave Texas the lead for good at 79-78.
“We knew she had four fouls,” McCarty said. “I tried to engage her as much as I could.”
After Spencer went to the bench fighting off tears, Wilson had what she thought was the shot to win, only to hear the whistle go against her. Lashann Higgs then made one free throw for an 82-80 Texas lead but missed the second.
Holmes grabbed the rebound, missed her first shot and then made the second to seal the win. Holmes finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
North Carolina State (23-9) missed going to its first Sweet 16 since 2007.
“It just hurts,” Wilson said. “You feel helpless.”