TEXAS (15-6, 3-4) vs. Oklahoma (14-4, 4-2 in Big 12)
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2008 · 1 p.m. Central
Frank Erwin Center (capacity 16,755) · Austin, Texas
GAME COVERAGE
TV: ESPNU (Beth Mowins, play-by-play; Nancy Lieberman, color analyst)
RADIO: KVET 1300 AM (Central Texas): Chad Hastings, color analyst); Sooner Sports Network
Game Day Information
In the National Rankings: Texas is ranked No. 25 in both the Associated Press Top 25 (media poll) and USA Today/ESPN (coaches poll) Top 25, up from "also receiving votes" last week in both polls ... Oklahoma is No. 11 (AP), No. 10 (USA Today/ESPN)
Texas Head Coach Gail Goestenkors (Saginaw Valley State '85): 16th year overall: 516 games: 411-105 (.797); first year at Texas: 15-6 (.714)
Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale (Oklahoma Christian '87 ): 12th year overall as collegiate head coach (all games at OU): 368 games: 246-122 (.668)
All-Time Series Record: 33rd meeting -- Texas leads the series, 20-12
Texas' Home/Away/Neutral Record vs. OU: 11-3 at home; 6-7 away; 3-2 at neutral sites
Series Win Streak: +2, OU
Last Year's Games: Texas 67, No. 9/8 Oklahoma 62 (Jan. 31, 2007, Austin, Texas); No. 12/9 OU 78, Texas 58 (Feb. 12, 2007, at Norman, Okla.); No. 11/11 Oklahoma 67, Texas 58 (Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, Oklahoma City, Okla., March 7, 2007)
Goestenkors All-Time vs. Oklahoma: 0-1 (OU 86, Duke 71, March 29, 2002, NCAA Women's Final Four semifinals, San Antonio, Texas)
Tickets: Purchase online at TexasBoxOffice.com; by calling 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333; in person at any Texas Box Office outlet, including Austin-area H-E-B stores and the UT Athletics Ticket Office in Bellmont Hall (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Central); and in person one hour prior to game time at the Frank Erwin Center box office. Group packages are also available at an additional discount. For more information call 512-232-3865.
Game Promotions
FREE Longhorns Kid Court EVERY home game! Pregame activity center for youth 18 and under is located in the adjacent Cooley Pavilion practice facility (follow signs from Erwin Center pavilions) ... Inflatables, basketball hoops of all kinds and sizes for the youngest to oldest child, face painting and contests ... Open 5:30 p.m. to 15-minutes prior to 7 p.m. tipoff.
Military Day: Military personnel can purchase a $5 reserved general admission ticket with military ID. Military personnel may also call the UT Athletics Events, Sales and Services office at 512-232-3865. By purchasing your tickets in advance, you will secure better seat locations.
Team Day: $5 general admission ticket for any player or coach in their team jersey or team T-shirt.
O-Zone Giveaways (UT Student Promotions)
Be sure to wear your Stampede or O-Zone shirt to today's game for your chance to win the following prizes: Rudy's BBQ Prize Pack, Dinner for two at Matt's El Rancho
The Teams
Texas is ranked No. 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls this week, and stands 15-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12 ... Oklahoma is 14-4 with a three-game win streak and is 4-2 in the conference ... OU is ranked 11th (AP) and 10th (USA Today/ESPN) ... Texas is coming off Wednesday's tough 61-60 loss to No. 6 Baylor in Waco, a game won on a BU 3-pointers in the waning seconds... Oklahoma has won its last three, defeating Texas Tech (78-39), Georgia (65-57) and Kansas (67-51) ... Texas and OU are meeting for the 33rd time, with the Longhorns holding a 20-12 series edge... The teams met three times last year, splitting the regular season home-and-home games as Texas upset the No. 9 Sooners, 67-62 on Jan. 31 in Austin before No. 12 OU won in Norman, 78-58 (Feb. 12)... The two then met in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinals with OU prevailing, 67-58, in Oklahoma City on March 7.
A Look at Texas
Sophomore guard Brittainey Raven continues to lead the team in scoring with a 15.6 ppg average ... Raven also is second in steals with 42 (2.0 spg) and assists (67, 3.1 apg) and is tied for third in rebounding (4.9 rpg) ... Junior post Ashley Lindsey, coming off her fourth double-double of the year (career-high 20 points with 10 rebounds against Baylor) is second in scoring (11.7 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and blocks (62, 3.0 bpg)... She ranks No. 10 nationally in blocks... Freshman guard Kat Nash (9.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg), redshirt sophomore point guard Carla Cortijo (9.5 ppg, team-high 4.8 assists per game), senior guard Erneisha Bailey (7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and redshirt sophomore Earnesia Williams (7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg) follow in the stat columns.
A Look at OU
As a team, OU ranks No. 2 nationally in rebound margin (+15.1)... Junior post Courtney Paris (15.2 ppg) is the nation's top rebounder ... Paris also is 7th nationally in blocks (56, 3.2 bpg)... Freshman Danielle Robinson (12.9 ppg, 43 steals), Ashley Paris (11.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Amanda Thompson (10.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg) round out the stat leaders.
Goestenkors vs. Oklahoma- One (Final Four) Time
First-year Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors has faced Oklahoma and head coach Sherri Coale once in her career - in a NCAA Final Four semifinal matchup in 2002 ... That game, ironically, also took place in Texas when Goestenkors led Duke to its second (of four) NCAA Final Four showings under her direction... The Final Four took place in the sold-out Alamadome in San Antonio, and the Sooners prevailed, 86-71 on March 29, 2002.
Time to Start New Streak
UT's leading scorer Brittainey Raven (15.6 ppg) saw her career-best 20-game streak of games in double-figure scoring ended on Wednesday night in the tough one-point loss at Baylor... Raven scored seven points... That was the longest string of double-figure scoring games by a Texas player since former All-America guard and Wade Trophy winner Edwina Brown scored 10-plus points in the first 22 games of her senior year in 1999-2000.
THINK PINK
Texas Basketball is taking part in a national initiative supported by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association - the "THINK PINK Week" initiative (Feb. 8-17) to assist in raising breast cancer awareness ... The Texas-Baylor home game on Wednesday, Feb. 13 (8 p.m.) is UT's designated "Think Pink/Pack the House" game ... Fans are asked to wear pink on game day... Discount tickets ($5) are available until Feb. 6 by calling the UT Athletics Events, Sales and Services office at 512/232-3865.
Texas, Goestenkors Against the Top 25 All-Time
In Texas history, the Longhorns have met a Top 25-ranked opponent (or Top 20 when the rankings went to 20 teams) 314 times ... UT's record against ranked foes is 147-167 (.468), including a 3-2 mark this year ... In 155 all-time games against Top 25 ranked opponents, UT coach Gail Goestenkors has a 90-66 record, a 58.1 winning percentage, with all but this year's five games on Duke's sidelines.
In the NCAA Statistics (Texas & Oklahoma)
Currently, Texas stands 17th among all NCAA Division I teams in scoring margin (+15.2), as UT scores 74.1 ppg and holds the opponent to 58.9 ppg ... Texas also is 17th in blocked shots per game (5.2 bpg), led by junior Ashley Lindsey's single-season high of 62 ... Lindsey stands 10th among all Division I players in blocked shots average (3.0 bpg)... UT also is 19thst in field goal percentage defense (limiting opposition to 35.5 percent shooting accuracy) and 25th in scoring (with 74.1 ppg).
Oklahoma is ranked in the top 12 in five NCAA statistics, including: 1st, rebound margin (+15.1); 9th, scoring (76.7); 10th, field goal pct. (.469); 10th, blocks (5.7 bpg); and 12th, scoring margin (+16.6 ppg)... Individually, junior Courtney Paris, as mentioned, is first nationally in rebounding (15.2 rpg) and eight in blocks per game (3.1 bpg), while her twin sister Ashley stands 14th in field goal percentage (.586).
Texas and Big 12 Numbers
Sophomore Brittainey Raven (13.7 ppg) and junior Ashley Lindsey (12.6) are the lone Longhorns averaging double-figure scoring in Big 12 play ...Raven is 14th in Big 12 league scoring ... Lindsey is first in blocked shots in Big 12 games (24, 3.43 bpg), ranking ahead of OU junior Courtney Paris and Nebraska's Danielle Page, each with 21 (3.0 bpg)... Lindsey also is eighth in conference rebounding (7.7) and ninth in field goal pct. (.460).
Carla Cortijo stands fifth in conference assists average (3.86) and is seventh in assist-turnover ratio (3.9 apg, 4.0 to's, 0.96) ... Senior Erneisha Bailey stands third in league steals (20, 2.86 spg), while freshman Kat Nash is fourth in 3-point percentage in league games (.435, 10-23) and 14th in league rebounding (7.0 rpg).
As a team, the Longhorns are first league steals (with 75), averaging 10.71 thefts per game, and No. 3 in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to 60 ppg ... Texas also is No. 4 in turnover margin (+3.14, 17.0 to's/game to opponents' 20.1 to's/game) and tied for fifth in blocked shots (4.71 bpg).. On the flip side, however, Texas ranks in the middle of the pack or below in numerous categories, including: No. 6 in Big 12 scoring margin (+1.9), field goal percentage defense (limiting opposition to 39.4 shooting accuracy, and free throw pct. (.715) ... UT also is No. 7 in scoring (61.9 ppg) and 11th in FG percentage, hitting 36.3 percent of league field goals.
It's So Raven - No Sophomore Slump Here
UT sophomore guard Brittainey Raven (15.6 ppg) is enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign ... The 6-0 combo guard has been in double-figure scoring in 20 of the 21 games to date - doubling her freshman year scoring totals when she hit 10-plus points 10 times in 32 games for 18-14 Texas ... Her double-figure scoring streak was snapped at Baylor (she had seven points), yet Raven is averaging nearly 10 points a game more than she did as a freshman last year when she averaged 7.9 ppg ... Raven has been UT's leading scorer 11 times in 21 games, and is one of only two players to score 20-plus points - she has done it three times.
Look at Lindsey as Most Improved
Most notable this year for Texas are the contributions of 6-0 sophomore combo guard Brittainey Raven and 6-4 junior post Ashley Lindsey ... As mentioned, Raven has upped her scoring numbers (15.6 ppg this year, 7.9 ppg last year), and is chipping in with 67 assists to date (3.2 apg), a big increase from her 51 assists and 1.6 apg a year ago.
The improvement for tLindsey has been dramatic, and the case can be made for the junior to be arguably the most improved player in the Big 12... Here is a breakdown of Lindsey's numbers from last year at this point in the season to this year:
Ashley Lindsey: NOW and THEN
2007-08: 11.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 62 blocks (3.0 bpg), 26.5 mpg, 52.3 FG% ... 21 games, 21 starts, 4 double-doubles ... 10th nationally in blocks (3.0 bpg), 1st in Big 12 league blocks (24, 3.43 bpg), 8th in Big 12 rebounding (7.7 rpg), 9th in Big 12 FG pct. (.460)
2006-07: 3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 17 blocks (1.0 bpg), 10.1 mpg, .590 FG% ... 17 g, 0 starts, no double-doubles ... Big 12 league stats: 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg, 10 mpg
More on Raven and Lindsey and Their Consistency
Leading scorer and co-captain Brittainey Raven (15.6 ppg) has led UT in scoring 12 times, has five or more assists five times and has four or more steals three times... In the last three games, Raven is shooting 47 percent (13 of 28) and has 11 assists and 14 rebounds ... Junior post Ashley Lindsey (11.7 ppg, team-high 7.1 rpg) had a career-high seven blocks against Nebraska on Jan. 9 (prior high was six) ... She has a career single-season high of 64 blocks to date (3.0) ... Lindsey also pulled down 10 or more rebounds in five of the last 10 games and has all four of her double-doubles in this span ... Lindsey has led UT in rebounding 11 times in the 21 games... Her last two double-doubles were a 15-point, 11-rebound effort against Kansas State (Jan. 13) and 20 points/10 boards against No. 6 Baylor (Jan. 30).
Nash Among Big 12's Rookie Bests
UT freshman guard Kat Nash is emerging as one of the Big 12's top rookie players ... The 6-2 Nash has been primarily used as UT's sixth man, coming off the bench 14 times while starting seven contests ... She is fourth in Texas overall scoring (9.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (7.0 rpg), and also leads the Longhorns in free thorw percentage (.833), 3-pointers made (27) and attempted (78) and is second in 3-point percentage (.397). Among all Big 12 freshman players in conference stats, Nash has put up some of the best numbers of all Big 12 rookies ... She is second among all freshmen in conference rebounding (7.0 rpg), fourth in assists (1.3 apg), fifth in scoring (8.1 ppg), sixth in 3-point percentage (.435) and ninth in FT percentage (17-19, .895).
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