Feb. 12, 2010
Complete game notes
#14/19 TEXAS (17-6, 6-3 Big 12) at Kansas (14-8, 4-5 Big 12)
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 • 1 p.m. Central • Metro Sports KC
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) • Lawrence, Kan.
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: The game will be televised regionally by Metro Sports KC. Nate Bukaty (pxp) and Brenda Van Lengen (color) will call the action.
RADIO: KVET-AM 1300 “The Zone” will broadcast Saturday’s game between Texas and Kansas. Jon Madani (pxp) and Carol Ross (analyst) will call the game.
SERIES: Texas, 12-7. Last meeting: Texas 74-66 (Feb. 11, 2009; Austin, Texas)
NOTABLES
• FONTENETTE PRODUCING OFFENSIVELY ... Since beginning Big 12 Conference play on Jan. 9, sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette has notched six double-digit scoring efforts in nine games. She is averaging 12.4 ppg in league games, compared to 8.9 ppg in non-conference games.
• ROAD WARRIORS ... Texas is in the middle of a five-game stretch that includes road games at Colorado (Feb. 10), Kansas (Feb. 13), Texas A&M (Feb. 20) and Oklahoma State (Feb. 24). The Horns’ lone home game during the five-game stretch comes on Wednesday, Feb. 17, against Kansas State. The Longhorns are 3-2 overall on the road this season, and 2-1 in conference road tests.
• EVERYONE MAKING AN IMPACT ... Texas’ 74-50 win at Colorado (Feb. 10) marked its sixth win in a seven-game stretch and also the first time in school history that every player on the roster recorded at least one point, rebound and assist in a single game. In just three previous games in school history, every player that saw action accomplished the feat, but not everyone on the roster competed in the game.
• LEAGUE STANDINGS ... Texas is in a three-way tie for third in the Big 12 Conference at 6-3, while Kansas is tied for fourth in the standings at 4-5 entering Saturday’s game.
SERIES VS. KANSAS
Saturday’s contest marks the 20th meeting between Texas and Kansas. Texas holds a 12-7 advantage in the all-time series, which began on Jan. 9, 1982, with a 66-47 UT win. The Longhorns have won eight of their previous 10 meetings with the Jayhawks, including the last two under third-year head coach Gail Goestenkors. The series is knotted at 4-4 when the teams meet in Lawrence.
Series Quick Facts
| Overall Series Record |
Texas, 12-7 |
| Goestenkors vs. Kansas |
2-0 |
| Most UT points |
109 (Jan. 4, 1983) |
| Most Kansas points |
77 (Mar. 18, 1996) |
| Fewest UT points |
49 (Feb. 10, 2007) |
| Fewest Kansas points |
46 (Feb. 26, 2002) |
| Largest UT margin |
42 (89-47; Feb. 8, 2003) |
| Largest KU margin |
12 (64-52; Feb. 10, 2000) |
| In overtime |
N/A |
THE LAST MEETING: VS. KANSAS (FEB. 11, 2009)(AP) -
Brittainey Raven scored 16 points to lead No. 13 Texas to a 74-66 victory over Kansas on Feb. 11 and a four-game win streak in the Big 12 for the first time since 2006. The Longhorns jumped out to a quick lead against Kansas (13-9, 2-7) and built a solid 33-17 advantage with just over 3 minutes remaining in the half. Kansas closed the gap in the second half when Nicollette Smith, who finished with 18 points and four rebounds, made a jumper to make it a four-point game at 49-45.
Erika Arriaran was fouled on a 3-point attempt on Texas’ next possession and made all three free throws. Kansas’ LaChelda Jacobs converted a three-point play with a layup and a free throw on Kansas’ next trip down the court to make it a four-point game. After Jacobs closed the gap to 60-57 with a running jumper in the lane, the Jayhawks could get no closer as
Earnesia Williams made a wide-open 3-pointer to help Texas ice the game.
LAST TIME OUT: AT COLORADO (FEB. 10)
Ashleigh Fontenette scored 13 points, Cokie Reed added 12, and No. 14 Texas routed mistake-prone Colorado 74-50 on Wednesday night for its fourth consecutive win. Kathleen Nash and Brittainey Raven added 10 points each for the Longhorns (17-6, 6-3 Big 12). Texas beat Colorado for the 10th time in 11 meetings in continuing its strong play since starting the conference season with consecutive losses. Chucky Jeffery had 12 points to lead Colorado (12-10, 2-7), which lost its 15th in a row to a ranked opponent. Capitalizing on 11 first-half turnovers by Colorado, Texas got its transition game going, scoring one easy basket after another on fastbreaks en route to a 41-21 lead at halftime. Texas had extended its lead to 64-34 with 8:05 left when Lauren Flores banked in a fastbreak layup following yet another Colorado turnover. The Buffaloes had 22 turnovers overall leading to 39 points for the Longhorns. That’s the way it went throughout for Colorado, which fell behind 14-0 in the game’s first five minutes before Bianca Smith hit a 3-pointer for the Buffaloes’ first basket.
A CHECK OF THE POLLS
Texas climbed three places to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press poll (Feb. 8) and No. 19 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll (Feb. 9). In her 18 years as a collegiate head coach, Gail Goestenkors has spent 274 weeks in the AP Top 25 poll, the most by any current Big 12 head coach, and a mark that ranks ninth by active coaches in AP Poll history.
CLOSING IN ON 20 WINS
At 17-6, the Longhorns are three wins away from reaching their third-consecutive 20-win season under third-year head coach Gail Goestenkors. The 2009-10 squad will become the 29th team in Texas’ 36 years of women’s basketball to eclipse the 20-win mark, and Goestenkors’ 13th-consecutive team to record 20 or more wins.
DEFENSE MATTERS
After giving up 90 or more points in their first three Big 12 Conference games, the Longhorns have made defense a priority. Take a look at the defensive difference in Texas’ first three conference games compared to their last six:
| First three games |
Category |
Last six games |
| 90.7 |
Opponent scoring average |
57.3 |
| .483 (97-of-201) |
Opponent FG pct |
.355 (124-of-349) |
| .417 (20-of-48) |
Opponent 3FG pct |
.265 (30-of-113) |
| +0.7 |
Texas rebounding margin |
+3.3 |
| 1-2 |
Texas record |
6-1 |
LEAGUE LEADERSIn Big 12 Conference games, Texas is averaging a league-best 75.9 ppg and 38.7 3-point FG percentage, and ranks second in scoring margin (+7.4), assists (12.4 apg), blocks (5.6 bpg) and 3FG made (6.4 pg). Sophomore post
Ashley Gayle is second in the conference with 3.0 bpg. Sophomore guard
Ashleigh Fontenette ranks second with a 50.0 percent mark from 3-point range (10-of-20) and fourth with a 2.0 assist-turnover ratio. Junior guard Kathleen Nash’s 87.0 FT percentage (20-of-23) is fourth in the league.
BALANCED EFFORT
Texas is averaging 77.4 points per game with eight of its 10 players accounting for four or more points per contest. Just 2.3 ppg separate the fourth-through-seventh leading scorers (8.6-6.3). Seven are also posting 6.0 or more points per game. Additionally, seven players are corralling 3.0 or more boards per outing.
HITTING THE BOARDS
Texas has won the battle of the boards by a +9.1 rebounding margin in its 17 victories and enters Saturday’s game against Kansas with a +5.5 overall rebounding margin. The Longhorns pulled down a season-high 57 boards against in their double-overtime win at Texas Tech (Jan. 16). UT has outrebounded each of its last four Big 12 opponents, Baylor (+2), Oklahoma (+10), Texas Tech (+15) and Colorado (+4). Junior guard Kathleen Nash leads the Longhorns with 7.2 boards per game, while sophomore post Ashley Gayle is pulling down 6.3 rpg.
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
After starting Big 12 Conference play 0-2, head coach Gail Goestenkors decided to debut a new lineup at Texas Tech on Jan. 16. The combination of senior guard Brittainey Raven, sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette, junior guard Kathleen Nash, senior forward Earnesia Williams and sophomore post Ashley Gayle marks the sixth lineup of the season for UT and is 6-1. Ka. Nash is the only player to have started in all 23 games for the Longhorns this year.
RPI RELEASED
The fifth edition of the NCAA RPI was released Feb. 8 and Texas is one of seven Big 12 teams in the Top 25 at No. 11. The Big 12 is the only league with seven teams in the Top 25 and is also ranked first in RPI by both CBN and Jeff Sagarin for the 10th-consecutive week. UT’s schedule is ranked No. 11 in all three RPI rankings, the fourth-highest of any league opponent.
