The list of unbeaten teams in Division I women’s basketball is down to three.
No. 2 Texas suffered its first loss of the season Sunday, falling 70–65 to No. 12 LSU in Baton Rouge. The result snapped the Longhorns’ perfect start and marked LSU’s first win over an Associated Press top-two team since 2008, ending a 17-game losing streak in those matchups.
LSU’s win came at a pivotal moment. After opening SEC play with back-to-back losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Tigers have rebounded with consecutive conference victories, capped by Sunday’s performance in front of 13,200 fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the ninth-largest crowd in program history.
Junior guard Mikaylah Williams led the Tigers with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and five steals, delivering the decisive shot with a contested three-pointer late in the fourth quarter. LSU forced 17 Texas turnovers, outrebounded the Longhorns 44–35, and held Texas to its lowest offensive output of the season.
“We knew we beat ourselves in those losses,” Williams said after the game. “Down the stretch, we stayed together.”
For Texas, the loss exposed cracks that had been masked by a dominant start. Madison Booker scored 24 points but committed six turnovers, while point guard Rori Harmon finished with a season-low two points and did not play in the fourth quarter. Head coach Vic Schaefer called it the Longhorns’ worst performance of the season, later voicing frustration with the SEC schedule that sent Texas to LSU and South Carolina in consecutive road games.
The loss reshapes the national picture. The remaining undefeated teams are No. 1 UConn, No. 7 Vanderbilt, and No. 17 Texas Tech. UConn remains the clear favorite to run the table, dominating opponents by an average of more than 30 points. Vanderbilt and Texas Tech, both off to the best starts in program history, face significantly tougher tests in the coming weeks.
Texas will have little time to regroup, traveling to No. 3 South Carolina next. LSU, now firmly back in the SEC race, heads to No. 5 Oklahoma. The teams will meet again Feb. 5 in Austin.
Perfect seasons are rare. Fewer still survive January.
