STANFORD, Calif. — (AP) Aliyah Matharu made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:06 to play and two more in the closing minutes, freshman Rori Harmon scored 21 points and No. 25 Texas jolted defending national champion and third-ranked Stanford 61-56 Sunday.
Ashten Prechtel’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds left got Stanford within 57-54. Harmon then converted two free throws to help Texas hang on.
The Longhorns embraced and hollered following the upset, with 60-year-old coach Vic Schaefer pulling off a leaping leg kick and fist pump.
Texas (2-0) excelled in its first big nonconference test after beating New Orleans 131-36 in its season opener Tuesday.
The Cardinal (1-1) led 40-35 in a defensive matchup going into the final 10 minutes before Matharu took over. She finished with 17 points.
Matharu, who joined the Texas program after transferring from Mississippi State, hit 3-pointers at the 3:08 and 1:39 marks to help seal it.
Lexie Hull scored 16 points for the Cardinal before fouling out late. Stanford missed its first 10 3-pointers and key free throws and also committed costly turnovers. Haley Jones had 15 points but also five turnovers.
PHOTOS: Matharu, No. 25 Texas women jolt third-ranked Stanford 61-56
Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer went with an experienced starting lineup featuring Hull and twin sister Lacie, along with sixth-year senior Anna Wilson after the Cardinal’s balanced 91-36 victory over Morgan State on Thursday.
VanDerveer challenged her women to take better care of the ball, but Stanford struggled to do so committing 20 turnovers in an uncharacteristically sloppy performance. The Cardinal shot just 4 for 27 from 3-point range.
Both teams needed about a quarter to warm up for the noon local time tip-off — Texas missed seven straight shots with a scoring drought of nearly six minutes midway through the opening period and Stanford had nine consecutive misses to go almost six minutes between field goals by Lexie Hull.
The young Texas team with two freshman starters struggled with its perimeter shooting and didn’t make a 3-pointer until Matharu hit with 6:53 remaining in the game.
The teams were tied at 10 after one quarter with the Cardinal shooting 3 of 13 overall to 4 for 16 by the Longhorns.
Stanford beat Texas in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
SHOW ME THOSE RINGS
Stanford celebrated its national title with a video highlight show, ring ceremony and banner unfurling after the game. The Cardinal beat Pac-12 rival Arizona 54-53 for the program’s third women’s basketball championship and first since 1992.
Stanford had won its last 21 games dating to last season before Sunday’s defeat.
BIG PICTURE
Texas: Texas overcame being outrebounded 37-28. ... The Longhorns won the last meeting, pulling off a 69-64 upset of then-No. 1 Stanford on Dec. 22, 2019, in Austin.
Stanford: The Cardinal were 0 for 8 on 3-pointers in the first period and missed 10 from deep before Prechtel connected at the 4:06 mark of the second quarter. That was the only 3 of the game until Lexie Hull connected with 1:40 remaining in the third. ... Cameron Brink had three of Stanford’s 10 blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Texas: Hosts Southeast Missouri on Wednesday in a quick trip home before a road trip to face Tennessee in Knoxville next Sunday.
Stanford: Hosts Portland on Tuesday night.
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