Burnt orange

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas went to its locker room at halftime of a women’s basketball game against Tennessee and broke down the stat sheet.

Down the hallway, the Lady Vols were gathering and, in retrospect, broke down.

“I don’t know, we’d have been better off if we’d didn’t have halftime maybe,’’ Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.

Definitely a worthwhile consideration for the Lady Vols after their final 20 minutes unraveled into a series of missed shots and turnovers, along with leaky defense and rebounding. In the process, a tie score at the break disintegrated into a 73-59 loss to the Longhorns before a Sunday matinee crowd of 8,567 at the Erwin Center.

While No. 7 Tennessee (7-2) sagged, No. 6 Texas (9-0) surged after a frank assessment of the first 20 minutes and what needed to change.

“I talked to the players and asked them what the most important stats are to me,’’ Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. “They all said rebounding. And I asked them what the second most important stat is and they said assists. I told them that we only had two. That’s not going to get it.”

The Longhorns got the message. They had 10 assists after the break, which helped fuel a poised, determined finish.

Four Texas players scored in double figures, led by Brittainey Raven’s 21 points. Kathleen Nash scored 12. Carla Cortijo and Ashley Lindsey each scored 11.

The Longhorns built a 52-41 edge in rebounds and a 23-6 disparity in points off turnovers.

“This year, we had a lot more confidence going into this game than we did last year,’’ said Raven, referred to the Longhorns’ 92-67 loss in Knoxville last season.

Glory Johnson, who missed all but three minutes of the first half with foul trouble, led Tennessee with 13 points. Angie Bjorklund, who fouled out in the second half and was limited to 20 playing minutes, scored 11.

The final stat sheet had Summitt’s undivided attention. She was so preoccupied that she walked away from the postgame handshake line after congratulating Goestenkors.

“I made a point of going back and talking to their players and congratulating them,’’ Summitt said.

The Lady Vols trailed by seven points inside the game’s first three minutes and on three other first-half occasions thereafter. Yet the score was 31-all when the teams walked off the court. There was no indication they were heading their separate ways.

But after scoring the first basket of the second half, Tennessee committed turnovers on four of its next five possessions. The Lady Vols finished with 11 in the second half and 18 overall.

“Bri (Bass) wasn’t as sharp coming out of the locker room with her leadership at the point,” said Summitt, referring to Tennessee’s freshman point guard. “Things started to break down for us.”

Tennessee was hurting for experienced options at the position, too. Cait McMahan’s sore right knee limited her to five first-half minutes.

Of all the fouls, the one that hurt Tennessee the most was Bjorklund’s fourth with 16:43 left. She went to the bench, depriving the Lady Vols of their best sharpshooter with the scored tied at 39.

“A couple times, she just tried to run through defenders,’’ Summitt said. “She has to recognize when you’re a great shooter and your team and your (coaching) staff is counting on you, you can’t take yourself out of the game with fouls. You just can’t do it.”

Among Tennessee’s missed shots in the second half, at least three came from point-blank range. The Lady Vols also were 11 for 24 at the free throw line. Johnson, who was 7 for 14, and Vicki Baugh both missed two free throws apiece in a one-minute span inside the final 5:20, thereby missing a chance to cut an eight-point deficit in half.

“Once again, the free throw shooting is back,’’ Johnson said. “I just have to get in the gym and keep shooting 100 to 200 free throws. It’s mental. I know I can make them.”

Developing an ability to overcome the missed shots and the other mistakes will take more time and more effort.

“I do give Texas a lot of credit,’’ Bjorklund said. “I think our defense broke down. When things weren’t going our way, we weren’t there mentally. And we need to stay in there.”