March 9, 2010
Complete game notes
No. 5 seed TEXAS (21-9, 10-6 Big 12) vs. No. 12 seed Missouri (12-17, 2-14 Big 12)
Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship First Round
Thursday, March 11, 2010 • 1:30 p.m. Central • Metro Sports
Municipal Auditorium (9,308) • Kansas City, Mo.
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: The game will be televised in Kansas City markets by Metro Sports. Erin Bajackson (pxp) and Mark Ewing (analyst) will call the action.
RADIO: KVET-AM 1300 “The Zone” will broadcast Thursday’s game between Texas and Missouri. Craig Way (pxp) and Carol Ross (analyst) will handle the call.
INTERNET VIDEO: Big12Sports.com will feature free live video streaming of all first round games.
SERIES: Texas leads, 18-1. Last meeting: Texas 60-41 (March 3, 2010; Austin, Texas)
TEXAS IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP: Texas is 16-12 all-time in league tournament games.
NOTABLES
• FIFTH-SEED HISTORY ... UT enters the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship as the No. 5 seed for the second time in school history. The Longhorns sport a 1-1 record when playing as the fifth seed, and have not been the No. 5 seed since the 2002 Big 12 Championship. Texas is also 1-0 when playing the No. 12 seed.
• BETTER BY THE YEAR ... With 10 Big 12 Conference wins, Texas has produced its best league record since 2005 when it finished 13-3. The Longhorns have steadily improved their performance in league play over the past three seasons, as they went 7-9 in 2008 and 8-8 in 2009.
• QUARTET NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 TEAMS ... Senior guard Brittainey Raven was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team for the third-consecutive year, and freshman post Cokie Reed earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Junior guard Kathleen Nash picked up her second All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolade in as many seasons, and sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette earned her first.
SERIES VS. MISSOURIThursday’s contest marks the 20th meeting between Texas and Missouri. Texas holds an 18-1 advantage in the all-time series and is 2-0 against Missouri when the schools meet in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The Longhorns have won the last 11 meetings with the Tigers, including a 60-41 decision in Austin on March 3.
Series Quick Facts
Overall Series Record - Texas, 18-1
Goestenkors all-time vs. Mizzou - 4-0
Most UT points - 108 (Mar. 14, 1986)
Most Mizzou points - 77 (twice)
Fewest UT points - 52 (Jan. 6, 2001)
Fewest Mizzou points - 37 (Jan. 26, 2008)
Largest UT margin - 41 (108-67; Mar. 14, 1986)
Largest Mizzou margin - 16 (68-52; Jan. 6, 2001)
In overtime - Texas leads, 1-0
THE LAST MEETING: VS. MISSOURI (MARCH 3, 2010)
Brittainey Raven scored a team-high 13 points as Texas topped Missouri 60-41 on March 3 in Austin. Erika Arriaran added nine points in the win. Cokie Reed held down the low post with nine points and five rebounds. Toy Richbow’s back-to-back baskets forced Texas to call a timeout with a slim 36-30 advantage. After the timeout, Kathleen Nash hit a 3-pointer from the right wing giving Texas a 42-32 lead, and the Longhorns went on a 21-9 run in the final 13 minutes to shut down Missouri. The Longhorns jumped out to an early 10-6 lead after two quick layups by Raven to start the game. Texas went on a 12-4 run in the next six minutes to provide some cushion and closed out the first half strong taking a 30-16 lead into halftime. Missouri shot just 21 percent from the field in the first half, but Jones scored on three consecutive trips down the court after halftime to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 34-24.
A CHECK OF THE POLLS
Texas climbed three places to No. 15 in the latest Associated Press poll (March 8) and two place to No. 20 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll (March 9). In her 18 years as a collegiate head coach, Gail Goestenkors has spent 278 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.
LAST TIME OUT: AT BAYLOR (MARCH 7)
Cokie Reed scored 18 points and No. 18 Texas held Baylor to only two field goals in the second half, cruising to a 70-54 victory over the No. 14 Bears on Sunday. Brittainey Raven added 18 points and Kathleen Nash had 12 for the Longhorns (21-9, 10-6), who didn’t allow a second-half field goal by Baylor until there was 4:44 left. Erika Arriaran added 10 points and Ashley Gayle had 11 rebounds for Texas. Kimetria Hayden scored 14 points to lead Baylor (22-8, 9-7), while Kelli Griffin had 10 points and Morghan Medlock had 12 rebounds.
MIZZOU DEJA VU
Thursday’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship meeting between Texas and Missouri may feel like deja vu to anyone that recalls UT’s first round game in 2009. Last year, Brittainey Raven connected on a running layup in the lane with 22.8 seconds left as Texas used a series of stolen inbounds passes to rally for a 62-59 victory against Missouri. Earnesia Williams finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and provided the key pressure under the basket that led to three straight flubbed inbounds passes by the 11th-seeded Tigers. Missouri led 59-52 after a run of seven straight points from the free throw line, but Williams hit a pair of free throws and then grabbed a deflected inbounds pass and turned it into a three-point play. Carla Cortijo hit a layup off the next steal, tying the game before Raven’s game-winner. Kathleen Nash had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Texas.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
In Big 12 Conference games, Texas averaged a league-best 36.8 3-point FG percentage (93-of-253), and ranked second in scoring offense (71.0 ppg), blocked shots (5.8 bpg), rebounding offense (40.6 orpg) and defensive rebounds (27.5 drpg). Sophomore post Ashley Gayle was second with 3.2 bpg in conference games. Junior guard Kathleen Nash (27-of-66, .409) ranked third in 3-point FG pct., and sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette was fourth with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.
NUMBER CHANGE FOR RAVEN
Senior guard Brittainey Raven will wear the No. 13 jersey during the postseason to pay tribute to injured teammate Lauren Flores. Raven made the switch from No. 10 to No. 13 prior to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship first round game against Missouri (March 11).
DOMINATING DEFENSE
Texas tied the school record for fewest field goals allowed in a half by an opponent when the Horns kept Baylor to just 2-of-25 shooting from the field in the second half on March 7. The two baskets were the fewest allowed since the Horns played Southern University on Nov. 30, 2006 and kept it to 2-of-18 shooting in the first half of Texas’ 71-23 win. Furthermore, the Horns held the Lady Bears without a field goal for a 16:37 minute span (1:22 remaining in first half to 4:45 remaining in second half).
OVER IT
Texas has played in four overtime games over the last 14 contests for a total of six five-minute overtime periods, equating to 30 extra minutes of basketball. All four of the overtime games have come in Big 12 play with Texas holding a 2-2 record when forced to play extra minutes. The Horns are 2-0 when faced with double overtime and 0-2 when the game is decided by one extra period. The four overtime outings tie a school record for most in a season, but no Longhorn team has ever played in six overtime periods during a season. The 1996-97 squad was forced to four overtime matches but only five extra periods.
REED IN A CLASS OF HER OWN
Freshman post Cokie Reed is in a class of her own compared to all other Big 12 Conference rookies. Reed is the only league freshman to rank Top 10 in her class in scoring (8.1 ppg, 8th), rebounding (4.7 rpg, 7th), field goal percentage (.500, 9th), steals (0.8 spg, 8th) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg, 2nd) through all games.
