Mizzou surrenders second half lead, loses close game at No. 5 Texas
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AUSTIN, Texas (KMIZ)
Mizzou Women's Basketball battled from start-to-finish but could not escape the Moody Center with an upset win.
The Tigers (12-11) led by as many as 11 points at No. 5 Texas, but the Longhorns took control in the second half to earn a 71-60 win over their former Big-12 Conference rival. The first meeting between MU and Texas since 2016 marked Mizzou's seventh defeat to an SEC opponent this season.
Fresh off its buzzer-beating win over Mississippi State, head coach Robin Pingeton's team put the pressure on a top-five team in the nation in the first half. After a three-pointer from Grace Slaughter ended an 8-2 scoring run, the Tigers held a three-possession lead through one quarter. Then, Mizzou secured its largest lead of the game 32-21 with less than five minutes before the break, following an and-one bucket.
However, two separate scoring runs allowed the Longhorns to survive a scare from the Tigers. Texas ended the first half by cutting its deficit down to just two points at the break, scoring 12 of the final 15 points before halftime. Then, head coach Vic Schaefer's squad sparked a second 12-3 scoring run to start the third quarter, completely digging themselves out of its 11-point hole to gain a 45-38 advantage with 16 minutes left in the contest.
MU trailed by just seven points at the start of the fourth quarter but was unable to turn its deficit into a one-score game in the final 10 minutes.
Laniah Randle led all scorers with a game-best 22 points, including four steals and four rebounds. Grace Slaughter and Ashton Judd also cracked double figures, scoring 16 points and 13 points respectively.
Mizzou shot 45% from the field and 31% from three-point range, but Texas outperformed them in both those categories, hitting 26 of its 53 attempts and three of its seven three-pointers. The Longhorns also out-rebounded the Tigers by a 38-25 margin.
Up next - Mizzou returns to Columbia to face another ranked opponent. MU hosts No. 18 Tennessee at Mizzou Arena on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.