AUSTIN, Texas — Lauren Ebo was so excited about celebrating her final regular season home game that she was unaware of another milestone.
Ebo scored a career-best 17 points to help No. 9 Texas extend its winning streak to eight games with a 65-50 victory against Oklahoma State on Saturday in the final regular season game ever at the 45-year-old Frank Erwin Center.
"I didn’t even know I got it,” said Ebo, who played two seasons at Penn State before transferring. “I was just more caught up in the fact that it was senior day and having my teammates there.”
Ebo, a 6-foot-4 center, converted 6 of 9 field goal attempts, grabbed a game-high six rebounds and made two blocks as Texas (23-6, 13-5 Big 12) finished the regular season with those eight straight wins after losing three in a row, including two to No. 5 Baylor.
Rori Harmon added 13 points along and four steals for Texas. Harmon left the game after taking a shot to the face early in the fourth quarter. She returned less than five minutes later but left again after a brief appearance. Athletic trainers appeared to be stretching her leg while Harmon was out the first time.
“She's fine,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.
Lexy Keys and Lauren Fields scored 10 apiece to lead Oklahoma State (8-19, 3-15), which finished the regular season with five straight defeats.
Texas led 40-20 at halftime after making 11-0 runs in the first and second quarters. Harmon scored six points during the second run as Texas took a 24-point lead, its largest of the game. The only real glitch for Texas was four turnovers on four straight possessions during the final two minutes of the half.
Oklahoma State shot just 30.6 percent and committed 20 turnovers, six more than its average, against an aggressive Texas approach that included full-court defensive pressure. Coach Jim Littell said his team did not adjust well after facing a much different style against Oklahoma on Wednesday.
“We didn't handle the pressure very well in the first half,” Littell said. “They got us sped up. We came off a game with Oklahoma where it was a soft zone and you didn’t have any worries about handling the ball.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls are in jeopardy of winning fewer than 10 games for the first time since they finished 6-22 in 2005-06. They've had only one losing season since then, 14-16 in 2018-19. ... Oklahoma State cut the Texas lead to 11 with 7:32 left but did not get any closer. “I don’t have a problem with the way our kids played in the second half, but it was just getting punched in the face in the first half and not reacting to it,” Littell said.
Texas: The Longhorns are leaving the Erwin Center after this season for the new $340 million Moody Center under construction on campus now. Though the Longhorns won the final regular season game that was held in the Erwin Center, they probably are not finished playing in that building. The top 16 teams will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Division I Women’s Basketball selection committee recently projected Texas as the No. 10 overall seed in the tournament.
INCENTIVE PLAN
Schaefer has complained about attendance at home games, saying his players deserve better than the announced 2,757 average before Saturday, which ranks No. 36 among NCAA Division I programs. Schaefer pledged $10,000 to the Neighborhood Longhorns Program, which provides resources for educationally disadvantaged youth, if attendance reached 10,000 on Saturday. The school announced 12,506 were sold, some discounted to $1. More than 7,000 tickets were scanned, according to a school official. “If they'll come out and give these kids one look, they'll be back," Schaefer said.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State: will play in the Big 12 tournament on Thursday in Kansas City.
Texas: Will receive a first round bye and play on Friday in the Big 12 tournament.
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