Jan. 3, 2009
Complete notes [PDF]
#4/4 TEXAS (12-1) at Purdue (8-5)
Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 • 6:30 p.m. Central
Mackey Arena (14,123) • West Lafayette, Ind.
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2. Pam Ward (pxp), Kara Lawson (color) and Rebecca Lobo (reporter) will call the action.
RADIO: KVET (1300 AM Sportsradio The Zone) will broadcast Monday's game between Texas and Purdue. Fans can also tune into XM Satellite Radio Ch. 231 for all of the action. Dave Garrett (pxp) and Carol Ross (analyst) will call the game.
INTERNET AUDIO: Listen to Texas Basketball games on subscription-based Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
INTERNET VIDEO: Watch Texas Basketball home games on free TexasSports.TV. (Note: Due to Big 12 Conference television contracts, home games are available for viewing 72 hours after completion of the game.)
SERIES: Tied 2-2. Last meeting: Texas 64-61 (Jan. 7, 2007; Austin, Texas)
NOTABLES
• BEST START SINCE 1985-86 ... With their 12-1 record, the Longhorns continue to ride their best start since the 1985-86 season when they went 34-0 and won Texas' first NCAA National Championship. Only two of Texas' 32 teams started the season with an 11-0 start prior to this year's squad - the 1985-86 and 1979-80 teams.
• HOT FROM THE LINE ... The Longhorns are 74-82 (.902) from the free-throw line over their last four games. On the season, UT is shooting .762 (218-of-286) from the charity stripe.
• DOMINANT DEFENSE ... Texas has held its opponents to an average of 52.2 points per contest and a combined 31.8 percent FG shooting, including a 55-of-212 (.259) mark from three-point range. UT has held 11 of its 13 opponents to under 40% FG shooting and six to under 30% FG shooting.
SERIES VS. PURDUE
Monday's contest marks the fifth meeting between Texas and Purdue. The all-time series, which began on Nov. 26, 1988, is tied at 2-2. Neither team has ever won a contest on its opponents court. The Longhorns last defeated the Boilermakers 64-61 on Jan. 7, 2007, in Austin.
LAST TIME OUT: LAMAR (JAN. 3)
Brittainey Raven scored 17 points to lead four Longhorns in double figures, and No. 4 Texas cruised past Lamar 82-45 on Jan. 3. Erika Arriaran finished with 13 points and five rebounds, Earnesia Williams had 12 points while Kathleen Nash added 11 points and four rebounds for the Longhorns (12-1). Arriaran hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute span in the second half to give the Longhorns a 30-point advantage. Texas turned 18 Lamar turnovers into 30 points.
A CHECK OF THE POLLS
Texas is ranked No. 4 in both the latest Associated Press poll (Dec. 29) and ESPN/USA Today (Dec. 30) poll. Texas compiled a perfect 3-0 record against Top 25 opponents during the non-conference season after first topping then-No. 25/20 Old Dominion 78-44 (Nov. 17) and later handing then-No. 7/10 Tennessee 73-59 (Dec. 14) and then-No. 21/21 Arizona State 81-71 (Dec. 18) back-to-back losses in Austin.
PASSING IT AROUND
The Longhorns have nearly doubled their opponents in assists through 13 games this season. Texas has recorded 215 assists to its opponents' 118, with senior guard Carla Cortijo dishing out 74. As of the most recent NCAA rankings on Dec. 22, Texas was averaging 17.3 apg, a mark that ranked 13th nationally.
GOESTENKORS AT PURDUE
Second-year head coach Gail Goestenkors can trace her coaching roots to West Lafayette, Ind., where she was an assistant coach from 1986-92. In that six-year span, Goestenkors and the Boilermakers recorded a 135-42 record. During her final five-year stint at Purdue before becoming head coach at Duke in 1992, Goestenkors served under current WNBA Indiana Fever head coach Lin Dunn. Additionally, current Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp played for Goestenkors as a junior/senior during Coach G's first two seasons as an assistant.
TEXAS-LAMAR NOTES
· Texas continues to ride its best start since 1985-86, improving to 12-1 on the season.
· Texas improved to 6-2 all-time against Lamar.
· Texas improved to 19-3 (.864) at home under Gail Goestenkors.
· Texas improved to 401-68 all-time in the Frank Erwin Center.
· UT has now won nine consecutive games at home, a streak that dates back to its 70-55 win over Texas Tech on March 5, 2008.
· The Longhorns shot 80 percent or better from the free-throw line for the fourth straight game (16-of-19, .842).
· Texas also shot 40 percent or better from the field for the fourth straight game (29-of-51, .569).
· UT held its largest lead at the 1:27 mark in the second half with a 37-point margin, which was also the final margin of victory.
· Four Longhorns scored in double-digits (Brittainey Raven - 17; Erika Arriaran - 13; Earnesia Williams - 12; Kathleen Nash - 11) for the seventh time this season.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Texas has held its opponents to an average of 52.2 points per contest and a combined 31.8 percent FG shooting, including a 55-of-212 (.259) mark from three-point range. UT has held 11 of its 13 opponents to under 40% FG shooting and six to under 30% FG shooting.
RAVEN EYEING 1,000
Junior guard Brittainey Raven is on the verge of joining an elite club of Texas women's basketball players. After scoring a game-high 17 points in Texas' win over Lamar (Jan. 3), Raven needs just 21 more points to become the 33rd player in UT history to reach 1,000 career points. The last player to eclipse the 1K mark was current WNBA standout Tiffany Jackson who accomplished the feat over the course of her sophomore year (2004-05).
ON POINT
Senior forward Earnesia Williams has been efficient this season, to say the least. Williams currently leads the team in field goal percentage (40-of-70, .571) and has been perfect from the field in three contests this year (4-of-4 FG -- Dayton, Nov. 15; 5-of-5 FG -- No. 21 Arizona State, Dec. 18; 4-of-4 FG -- Lamar, Jan. 3). Williams has connected on 50 percent or more of her shots in 10 of 13 contests while improving her shooting percentage 17 percent from last season (97-241, .402).
RAVEN LEADING THE LONGHORNS
Junior guard Brittainey Raven is living up to her Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention billing, as she has put together nine double-digit performances in 13 games. Additionally, Raven has led the Longhorns in scoring in eight games and leads Texas with an average of 15.0 ppg.
REBOUNDING RUNDOWN
Texas has outrebounded its opponents in all but three of its 13 games. The Longhorns sport a +11.6 rebound margin (44.6-33.0) and have recorded at least a +10 advantage in nine contests. UT posted a season-high 52 rebounds in its 73-59 win over Tennessee on Dec. 14, and most recently outrebounded Lamar 46-18 in Austin on Jan. 3.
THREE-POINT SUCCESS
Texas has converted 39.2 percent (73-of-186) from beyond the arc. UT is 7-0 on the season when shooting 40% or better from three-point range. The Horns recorded a season-high 5-of-9 performance (.556) against Arizona State (Dec. 18).
THE ASHLEYS DOMINATE
At 6-4, freshman Ashley Gayle shares the title of Tallest Longhorn with senior Ashley Lindsey. The duo share duties in Texas' frontcourt defense and have the potential to be serious threats to offensive attacks, as Lindsey is closing in on Texas' all-time blocks record and Gayle plays above the rim with a flat-footed, non-step vertical reach of 10-2. Lindsey's vertical jump reaches an even 10 feet. Through 13 games, the Ashleys have combined for 65 of Texas' 89 blocks.
HORNS DISPLAY DEPTH EARLY ON
Texas has displayed its depth early in the 2008-09 season, as its bench has outscored the opponents' bench 401-204. The Longhorns have held their opponents' subs to single digits in five games this season: vs. Dayton (37-8), vs. #25/20 Old Dominion (33-9), vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (34-9), vs. Furman (33-9) and vs. Lamar (26-9). The Longhorn bench is outscoring its opponents' by an average of 31-16. Freshman guard Yvonne Anderson leads the Longhorn bench with 6.6 ppg.
CORTIJO CRACKS TOP 10
Senior guard Carla Cortijo cracked Texas' all-time Top 10 list for career assists when she collected her 400th career assist against San Diego State on Dec. 30. Cortijo has 407 assists in 84 games and currently ranks eighth in Texas' annals. Additionally, her 172 assists last season ranks second all-time by Texas juniors. Kamie Etheridge holds the all-time junior class assists record with 226 in 1984-85.
LINDSEY CLOSING IN ON BLOCKS RECORDS
Senior post Ashley Lindsey has amassed 212 blocks in 102 games, placing her third all-time in the UT annals. Lindsey surpassed Tiffany Jackson (2003-07, 181 blocks) on Nov. 16, 2008, with four blocks in Texas' 110-76 victory over Saint Mary's. In addition, Lindsey's 94 single-season rejections during her junior year rank No. 2 in the UT season record books.
GAYLE CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Freshman post Ashley Gayle is quickly making an impact for UT defensively, as she ranks second on the team to senior Ashley Lindsey (2.6 bpg) with 2.4 blocks per game. Known as 'A.G.' to her teammates, Gayle broke into Texas' all-time Top 10 freshmen blocks record with the 23rd block of her career against UTEP on Dec. 28, and currently had 31 blocks on the season.
