Texas (12-11, 6-6 in Big 12) at Oklahoma State (6-17, 0-12 in Big 12)
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006: 2 p.m. (Central)
at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
TV: none
Radio: KVET Radio/Sports Radio 1300 (AM-Austin)
Teams at A Glance
National Rankings: neither team is ranked
All-Time Series Record: 23rd meeting: Texas leads series, 19-3
Texas' H/A/N Record vs. OSU: 10-1 at home; 7-2 away; 2-0 at neutral sites
Series Streak: +12, Texas
Last Oklahoma State Win: 71-69, Jan, 12, 2000 (at Stillwater, Okla.)
This Year: Texas 60, Oklahoma State 46 (Jan. 28, 2006, at Austin, Texas)
Texas Coach Jody Conradt (Baylor '63): 37th year overall: 1,170 games: 881-289 (.753); 30th year at Texas: 991 games: 764-227 (.771)
OSU Head Coach Kurt Budke: 13th season overall (Juco and Division I): 423 games: 359-64 (.847); 1st year at Oklahoma State: 23 games: 6-17 (.261)
Jody Conradt vs. Oklahoma State: 19-3
The Teams
Texas stands 12-11 overall and 6-6 in the Big 12, having lost its last three games ... This marks the first three-game losing streak for the Longhorns in five years - going back to 2001-02 when UT dropped four consecutive games from January 26-February 6; that year, UT went 22-10 and advanced to the NCAA Final 16 ... The six conference losses are the most by the Longhorns since that 2001-02 campaign when UT went 10-6 in the Big 12 to finish fifth ... Oklahoma State is 6-17 overall and still searching for their first win in the Big 12 this year (standing 0-12).
Texas is coming off a tough 61-54 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma on Wednesday in Austin ... Senior point guard Nina Norman equaled her career-high of 24 points against the Sooners - a mark she established three days earlier in a game against No. 4 Connecticut ... Norman also notched the 1000th point of her UT career in the process, and now has 1,021 points ... She is the 32nd player to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Longhorns Still Sit in Top 30 Nationally in RPI
Despite a 2-4 mark in its last six games, Texas continues to be among the nation's top teams in RPI going into Saturday's game ... Texas stands 29th overall in the most recent CollegeRPI.com ratings with the nations' third-toughest schedule... UT's schedule is ranked behind N.C. State (10th in overall RPI), which has the toughest slate of games, and Tennessee (1st in the RPI) with the second-hardest schedule ... Oklahoma State is 181st in the RPI, while the Cowgirls' schedule is No. 42.
Stat Leaders for the Longhorns
The Oklahoma game marked the third consecutive game that the Longhorns were without the services of 6-3 junior Tiffany Jackson ... Jackson leads the squad with team-highs of 14.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 2.7 steals per game ... Jackson has missed the last three games with a right ankle injury and her status is day-to-day ...Jackson injured the ankle with 5:55 left to go at Colorado (Feb. 4); she missed the last two games (vs. Texas A&M, vs. Connecticut) ...Freshman guard Erika Arriaran and senior guard Nina Norman are tied for second in scoring with 10.8 ppg apiece ...Freshman posts Ashley Lindsey (5.7 ppg) and Aubry Cook (5.2 ppg) follow in scoring ... Lindsey is second in rebounding (4.9 rpg) ... Norman leads UT in assists (56, 2.4 apg) and Arriaran is second in assists (45, 1.96)... Arriaran leads the club in 3-pointers made (34) and in free throw percentage (.834, 28-34).
Big 12 Action- Mieloszynska Coming on Strong
In Big 12 action, Jackson (14.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg), Norman (12.0 ppg, 3.0 apg) and Arriaran (10.4 ppg, 19 3's) lead the way ... Jackson averages just under a double-double in league play (14.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg)... Senior forward Daria Mieloszynska is fourth among the Horns in Big 12 scoring (5.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.5 rpg) in the league for the Longhorns ... Mieloszynska is coming off a career-high 15 rebounds against No. 9 Oklahoma... In the last three games, all against Top 25 opponents, the 6-2 senior has pulled down 23 rebounds while scoring 21 points - to average 7.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in these three contests.
A Look at OSU
Oklahoma State started the year 6-5 in non-conference games prior to dropping all 12 of its league contests so far ... The Cowgirls almost upset Missouri Wednesday night in Stillwater, as the Mizzou (18-6, 8-5 in Big 12) escaped Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 69-65 victory ... OSU freshman forward Shaunte' Smith scored 14 of her game-high and career-high tying 19 points in the first half ... She also had 12 rebounds, giving her the fourth double-double of her career.
Top Cowgirl players include 6-4 junior post Whitney Pegram (15.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Smith (11.3 ppg, team-high 7.0 rpg) and 5-6 junior guard Brisa Silva (7.7 ppg, team-high 3.7 apg) ... Pegram leads the team in blocked shot with 65 (2.82 bpg) and ranks No. 11 nationally in rejections... Silva hits for 31 percent from 3-point range with team-highs of 41 treys made and 133 3-pointers taken... At home this year, OSU stands 5-9 overall (0-6 in the league).
Texas-Oklahoma State Series
Texas and OSU will be meeting for the 23rd time in history, with the Longhorns holding a 19-3 edge in series action with a 12-game win streak which dates back to the 1999-2000 campaign. ...The 12-game win streak is the longest active win streak Texas holds against any Big 12 opponent.
UT stopped OSU earlier this season (Jan. 28) in Austin by a score of 60-46 behind 14 points from freshman Erika Arriaran (including a four-for-six performance from 3-point range), and eight points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals by senior point guard Nina Norman ... The UT bench out-scored the Cowgirls' bench, 21-7, led by freshman post Ashley Lindsey (8 points), who also added a team-best 11 rebounds and four blocks... Junior guard Brisa Silva (17 points, five assists) led the way for OSU, which was limited to 30 percent shooting and went 4-12 in free throws... In the second half, Texas led by as many as 16 points (42-26) before OSU closed the gap with a late run. The Cowgirls pulled to within nine points, 53-44, on a Whitney Pegram layup with 4:22 to go. OSU would score only two points the rest of the way, making just one field goal in six tries and turning the ball over five times.
In all-time games played in Austin, Texas is 10-1; in away games, the Horns are 7-2 and at a neutral site, 2-0 against the Cowgirls.
Jackson Posts Big Numbers vs. OSU
In five prior games against Oklahoma State, junior Tiffany Jackson has 68 points and 30 rebounds and is 20-for-26 from the foul line ... Jackson is averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 boards against the Cowgirls, although she had just six points and four rebounds in UT's win on Jan. 28 ... Last year, Jackson had 20 points, seven rebounds and six steals when the Horn beat OSU in Austin (63-42).. She then picked up a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds (with a 9-10 effort in free throws) in UT's 79-46 win at Stillwater on Feb. 19.
Next Up: Closing Out the Regular Season With Three Tough Games
Texas will wrap up regular season play within the next two weeks and prepare for the 2006 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament which runs from Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, March 7-9 and 11, at Reunion Arena in Dallas ... Prior to the Big 12 tourney (where UT was a semifinalist last year after winning the crown in 2003 and finishing second in 2004), the Longhorns will face three arch-rivals in regular season action: at No. 21 Texas AM (Wed., Feb. 22, 7 p.m. in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown); vs. Texas Tech (Sunday, Feb. 26, 3 p.m. on ESPN2 in Austin); and vs. No. 12 Baylor in Austin (Wed., March 1, FSN) on "Texas Senior Night".
Texas has dropped all three of the first meetings this year with its South Division opponents A&M, Tech and Baylor... Entering Saturday's game at Oklahoma State, the Longhorns are 4-2 at home in Big 12 action and 2-4 in away league games.
Texas Fan Bus Trip to College Station
Todd Charters is providing a bus for Longhorn fans who want to attend the Texas-Texas A&M game... The cost is $40 per person which includes transportation and a box lunch... Reservations are necessary; call Todd Charters at (512) 272-4880... Note: Game tickets are not included in this price.
To order game tickets, a limited number are available through the Texas women's basketball office; call Joy Fleming at (512) 471-9802 to reserve tickets.
