The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT has been a great ride so far for Bahamian freshman Lashann Higgs as she reunites with her adopted father George Washington on the Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team.

Higgs, a 5-foot, 9-inch guard, powered through with a triple-double on Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center as the No. 5 Longhorns defeated Sam Houston State 83-49 to close out non-conference play with a perfect 11-0 record for the second consecutive season, marking the first time in school history that a team has gone undefeated in non-conference play in back-to-back years.

“I think you always have to be pleased when you have a team that can go an extended amount of time without a loss,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “We were able to go through some really tough games, some games on the road, and withstand the different environments and be able to win. But I think our team has to start playing better. I haven’t been critical of this team because I think they want to be great, but we aren’t playing at the level we need to play at as we go into conference play.”

Higgs, one of four Longhorns in double figures, scored a game-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists. She also tied her career high with four steals in a career-high 26 minutes of action. Higgs led a Texas bench effort that scored 62 of the team’s 83 total points.

“It’s rewarding when you can help your team,” Higgs said. “As a player, there is always something you can control, which is defence. The offence isn’t always going to go the way you want it to go all of the time, so I try and just focus on defending and rebounding.”

The Harbour Island native gets the added comfort with her father, George Washington, sitting on the bench as an assistant coach and he also serves as the recruiting coordinator and instructs post players on the court. Her adopted mother, Jackie Bucher-Washington, also played basketball at Abilene Christian and was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. She is listed as having three younger brothers - George Jr, Jackson and Jayden.

Sam Houston State’s head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols was just as in awe as everybody with Higgs’ performance. “I think everybody had an opportunity to emerge in a game back after the holiday,” she said. “I told our players that they have an opportunity to show me what you got. I think that was a great game for her (Lashann Higgs) to show Karen (Aston) of what she can do. I think Texas can go far this year and I am looking forward to watching them here on out.”

With their win, the Longhorns (11-0) earned their 992nd victory in programme history and improved to 9-0 all-time against Sam Houston State (4-6). Texas finishes the year with a 25-game winning streak against regular-season non-conference opponents dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

Before joining the Longhorns, Higgs migrated from Harbour Island through Frank Rutherford’s elite programme in Houston to finish her high school career as a consensus All-American at Cedar Ridge High School, coached by Angela Beck at Cedar Ridge. She also competed at Kinkaid School in Houston as a freshman.

Higgs is ranked No.7 overall and No.3 at the guard position in the class of 2015, according to ESPN.com. As a senior in high school 2014-15, she was named as a Naismith Trophy finalist (top 5), Naismith Trophy All-American First Team and Parade All-American. She participated in the McDonald’s All American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. And Higgs was an WBCA All-American, Austin American-Statesman Central Texas Player of the Year, Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 6A All-State and was on the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Girls Basketball Team. She also led Cedar Ridge to a 30-3 record, averaging 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.?

Higgs and the Longhorns are slated to begin their Big 12 Conference play 6pm Wednesday when they travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to face West Virginia.