Feb. 17, 2009
Complete notes [PDF]
#12/13 TEXAS (19-5, 7-3 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State (14-9, 3-7 Big 12)
WBCA PINK ZONE
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 • 7 p.m. Central
Frank Erwin Center (16,755) • Austin, Texas
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: Texas Student TV broadcast will air live on Time Warner Cable Austin (Ch. 77), Dallas (Ch. 185) and Waco (Ch. 15). Lane Zieben (pxp) and Aaron Aiken (color) will call the action.
RADIO: KVET (1300 AM Sportsradio The Zone) will broadcast Wednesday's game between Texas and Oklahoma State. Craig Way (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 free on TexasSports.TV. (Note: Due to Big 12 Conference television contracts, home games are available for viewing 72 hours after completion of the game.)
SERIES: Texas leads, 22-7. Last meeting: Texas 91-74 (Feb. 5, 2009; Stillwater, Okla.)
WBCA PINK ZONE EVENTS
· All breast cancer survivors are invited to participate in a rally line as the Longhorns run onto the court; if they want to participate, they can meet UT Athletics staff outside Section 29 in the concourse at 6:30 p.m.
UT Student Organizations are participating by:
· Longhorn Honeys will be painting faces pink on the North Plaza and inside the Longhorns Kids Court.
· Pink ribbons will be distributed at the entrances by the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
· Colleges Against Cancer will help distribute breast health informational packets at Sections 29 & 44.
· University Panhellenic Council and the Texas Wranglers will be tailgating on the North Plaza for UT Students to raise awareness.
· Pink pom poms will be distributed at the doors.
· There will be a Pink Zone banner for people to sign in celebration of remembrance of their family members and friends who have had breast cancer at Section 29; the "signed" banner will be on display at halftime in the arena.
· There will be a special ball presentation pre-game where UT Athletics will recognize courageous women in the Austin community who have made breast cancer awareness a part of the daily lives.
· Fans may purchase an $8 RESERVED ticket at the Frank Erwin Center North or South Box Office by wearing a Pink shirt to the game.
NOTABLES
• WBCA PINK ZONE ... The Longhorns and Cowgirls will be adding a touch of pink to their uniforms in Wednesday's game to support the WBCA Pink Zone. The initiative of the event is a global, unified effort for women's basketball coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.
• CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON ... At 19-5, the Longhorns are one win away from reaching their second-consecutive 20-win season under second-year head coach Gail Goestenkors. The 2008-09 squad will become the 28th team in Texas' 35 years of women's basketball to eclipse the 20-win mark, and Goestenkors' 12th-consecutive team to record 20 or more wins.
SERIES VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
Wednesday's contest marks the 30th meeting between state-border foes Texas and Oklahoma State. Texas holds a 22-7 advantage in the all-time series that began on Mar. 11, 1977, with an 80-79 UT win in the AIAW Regionals in Monroe, La. The Horns hold an 11-2 all-time advantage in Austin and are 2-2 against the Cowgirls under second-year head coach Gail Goestenkors, including a 91-74 win at OSU on Feb. 5.
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LAST TIME OUT: IOWA STATE (FEB. 15)(AP) -
Earnesia Williams scored with 24 seconds left as No. 13 Texas rallied to beat 16th-ranked Iowa State 55-52 on Sunday and pick up its fifth-straight win.
Erika Arriaran scored 16 points to lead Texas (19-5, 7-3 Big 12) which snapped the Cyclones four-game home winning streak against ranked opponents. Iowa State led 52-47 with 2:04 left before Arriaran hit a pair of jumpers to pull the Longhorns within one. After a Texas stop, Williams' putback gave the Longhorns a 53-52 lead, and Iowa State lost the ball out of bounds with 11 seconds left.
Carla Cortijo then hit two free throws, and Iowa State's Alison Lacey failed to get off a potential game-tying 3 as time expired. Texas's bench scored 39 points, led by Arriaran and
Ashley Lindsey, who shot 6-of-9 from the field.
TEXAS-IOWA STATE NOTES
· Texas won its fifth-straight Big 12 game for the first time since 2005 ... The Longhorns also matched their conference season win total from 2007-08 with seven league victories.
· Texas committed a season-low eight turnovers, including zero in the second half.
· The Longhorns are 4-0 against Big 12 North teams.
· UT became the first team to knock off ISU at the Hilton Coliseum this season ... Texas also won for just the second time in program history in Ames, with its first victory coming exactly six years ago (Feb. 15, 2003).
· Texas overcame its biggest halftime deficit of the season (26-20) and its largest overall deficit of the season (11 points).
· Texas held its opponents' bench to single digits for the ninth time this season and fourth time in Big 12 contests (four points).
· Texas' 20 points at halftime were its second fewest of the season (19 at Purdue, Jan. 5).
· Texas shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free-throw line for the eighth time this season and improved to 5-3 when doing so.
· The attendance figure of 12,242 was the largest the Longhorns have faced this season.
LAST TIME VS. OKLAHOMA STATE (FEB. 5)
(AP) - Brittainey Raven scored a career-high 26 points, freshman Ashleigh Fontenette added 16 and the 16th-ranked Longhorns hit a season-high 13 3-pointers in a 91-74 rout of Oklahoma State on Feb. 5. The Longhorns hit 10 of their first 12 attempts from 3-point range, opening a 19-point lead in the closing minute of the first half. Many of the shots were wide open, including one on which Tegan Cunningham simply stopped and watched as Fontenette connected from the left wing. Texas kept pulling away with a 13-0 run as the Cowgirls went seven-and-a-half minutes without scoring in the second half to fall behind 73-43.
A CHECK OF THE POLLS
Texas is ranked No. 12 in the latest Associated Press poll (Feb. 16) and No. 13 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll (Feb. 17). Texas is 5-2 this season against Top 25 opponents and 2-2 in Big 12 contests.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
With six Big 12 contests remaining, the Longhorns continue to find themselves atop the league in two statistical categories (Feb. 15). Through all games, UT leads the league in free-throw percentage (362-of-502, .721) and blocked shots (141, 5.9 bpg). UT the only school in the league to rank in the top three in both 3-point FG percent and 3-point FG percent defense, and one of two schools to rank in the top five in both scoring offense and scoring defense (No. 5, 56.3).
FRESHMEN FAIRING WELL
Texas' freshmen class has responded well to the pressures of Big 12 play, as Ashleigh Fontenette and Ashley Gayle lead the league rookies in scoring, steals and blocked shots. Fontenette leads the league freshmen in scoring with 10.1 ppg and steals (2.11 spg), while Gayle ranks atop her class with 1.44 bpg.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
The big statistical difference in Texas' 19 wins and five losses this season can be traced to the defensive end of the court. In its 19 wins, Texas has held opponents to an average of 52.8 points per contest and a combined .330 percent FG shooting, including a 77-of-305 (.252) mark from three-point range.
NO LACK OF EXPERIENCE HERE
The Texas women's basketball coaching staff has a combined total of 87 years of experience. Mickie DeMoss leads the way with 31 years, including eight as a head coach (Kentucky, 2003-07; Florida, 1979-83). Gale Valley has 26, 15 of which were spent at Duke with head coach Gail Goestenkors, who has 22 years under her belt (one at Texas, 15 at Duke, six as an assistant at Purdue). LaKale Malone has been coaching for eight years, five of which have been in the Big 12. The Longhorns' 87 years are tied for the most in the Big 12 with Iowa State.
