Hot-shooting Aztecs beat Longhorns, Goestenkors “stunned”
AUSTIN, Texas —In a Memphis region upset, No. 11 seed San Diego State (22-10) shut down No. 6 seed Texas (22-11) with a barrage of three point shots and speed, 74-63. The Aztecs silenced the Longhorn faithful who came to support their team Sunday night at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Fueled by the hot shooting of senior Jené Morris, SDSU shocked not only the audience but Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors as well. When asked about her feelings as Morris’ treys continued to mount, she said “I was stunned.â€
Goestenkors said she could not recall a team making that many three points shots (8 of 10 in the first half alone) and hoped that the streak would subside.
“They were just on fire, and it became contagious for them,†she said “We couldn’t hit it, and I think it became contagious for us as well. I kept thinking, they have to cool off. Obviously, they cooled off in the second half from the three. But usually, at some point the percentages will start to work the way they have all season long.â€
Texas seniors sang the school’s alma mater with tears in their eyes after the loss while the Aztecs were jubilant but not surprised at their upset victory.
“I think we came in confident,†said Morris. “When you play a program as great as Texas, that’s what you have to do. Come in and play confident. The key was finding an open man as well. We saw an open man, would give them the ball. So confidence and working together was the key to that.â€
Morris finished with 32 points, just three points shy of her NCAA tournament record of 35. Freshman Cokie Reed led Texas with 16.
While the stellar shooting of SDSU propelled them to victory, the team’s strategy going into the game included a psychological tactic.
“We knew they’re kind of an emotional team,†said senior Quenese Davis “If we got them going and had our pressure going great, we would eventually make them get back on their heels, and we’d be able to attack them a little bit more from an offensive standpoint. And then early on, I think we just really did a good job using our length and pressuring it.â€
San Diego State meets No. 3 seed West Virginia on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The second game of the evening had none of the drama of the first with No. 3 seed West Virginia getting an expected victory over No. 14 seed Lamar.
Other upsets around the country from Sunday evening’s games:
No. 12 Wisconsin-Green Bay 69, No. 5 Virginia 67
No. 11 Arkansas-Little Rock 63, No. 6 Georgia Tech 53
No. 10 Vermont 64, No. 7 Wisconsin 55
Complete list of Sunday’s final scores:
Dayton Regional
Norfolk, Sunday, March 21
Ames, Sunday, March 21
- No. 12 Wisconsin-Green Bay 69, No. 5 Virginia 67
- No. 4 Iowa State 79, No. 13 Lehigh 42
Pittsburgh, Sunday, March 21
Memphis Regional
Austin, Sunday, March 21
Sacramento Regional
Cincinnati, Sunday, March 21
Kansas City Regional
Minneapolis, Sunday, March 21
Norman, Sunday, March 21
South Bend, Sunday, March 21
Dayton vs. Tennessee, 7:06 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Duke vs LSU, 7:11 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
St. John’s vs Florida State, 7:16 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Michigan State vs Kentucky , 7:21 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Iowa vs Stanford, 9:35 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Gonzaga vs Texas A&M, 9:40 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Georgia vs Oklahoma State, 9:40 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Georgetown vs Baylor, 10:05 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com
