Exhibition Game #2: Houston Jaguars
Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005 · 7 p.m. (Central) · Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Game Day Information & Quick Facts
TV: none
Live Video: Available through UT's subscription service
Radio: none
Live Audio: Available through UT's subscription service
Texas Women's Basketball Tickets
Texas women's basketball has numerous ticket plans in place for the 2005-06 season (full season ticket packages, a five-game mini-season ticket package, group ticket sales and single game ticket purchases). For more information on UT basketball tickets, go to TexasBoxOffice.com or call 512-471-3333 or 1-800-982-BEVO. For charge-by-phone, you can call 512-477-6060. Tickets can be purchased in person at the following locations: Bellmont Hall Athletics Ticket Office (Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m-4 p.m. Central); and at any Texas Box Office location, including the Frank Erwin Center (Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and game days prior to tipoff) or at Austin area H-E-B stores.
Texas at a Glance
National Rankings: Texas: #12, Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll; 12th, USA Today/ESPN Preseason Poll
Texas Coach Jody Conradt (Baylor '63): 37th year overall: 1,146 games: 869-278 (.758); 30th year at Texas: 968 games: 752-216 (.777)
2005-06 Exhibition Season (0-1 to date): lost to Everyones Internet (68-60, in Austin, Nov. 3)
A Glance at Tonight's Team
Texas is ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press (media) and USA Today/ESPN (coaches) preseason Top 25 polls ... The Longhorns, picked to finish second in the Big 12 race, are facing its second and final exhibition opponent of the season ... Last Thursday, UT dropped a 68-60 decision to Everyones Internet as EV1 pulled away by going 8-for-10 in free throws in the final 4:53 while the Longhorns missed seven of eight of their final shots ... UT was led by 16 points from senior guard Nina Norman while freshman guard Crystal Boyd (12 points) and All-America forward Tiffany Jackson (10 points) also were in double figures...
The Houston Jaguars, like Everyones Internet, is comprised of current and former WNBA and European standouts. Tonight, the Houston team is a split squad, with half the team facing the Longhorns and the other half playing at Baylor ... The Houston Jaguars are led by 5-10 guard Melissa Abraham (Memphis '02) who is averaging 15.0 ppg in the exhibition swing, along with 5-11 forward Umeki Webb (15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), who starred at North Carolina State and then in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury.
Other key Jaguar players include: former Mississippi State All-American LaToya Thomas (1999-03) who just concluded her second season with the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars; 6-5 forward Sancho Lyttle (Houston '05) who just finished her WNBA Houston Comets rookie season; and 5-7 guard Keisha Anderson, former Wisconsin and WBNA performer.
Jackson Adds Another Honor
On November 7, Tiffany Jackson added to her preseason National Player of the Year candidacy and All-America accolades by being named one of the nation's "top five forwards" by ESPN.com ... Jackson, an All-Big 12 First Team pick this preseason after being named First Team All-Big 12 a year ago, has been a consensus preseason All-American ... Jackson was one of five frontcourt players chosen by the ESPN.com basketball media panel ... Top frontcourt honors went to Baylor 6-1 senior Sophia Young ... Jackson and Young were joined by Temple 6-2 senior Candice Dupree, Michigan State 6-1 senior Liz Shimek and 6-2 senior Khara Smith of DePaul.
Jackson enters 2005-06 with All-America accolades from every preseason publication (Athlon, Lindy's, Street & Smith, Women's Basketball News Service) and as a preseason candidate for State Farm Wade Trophy and the Wooden Award for National Player of the Year honors.
What's Back for UT in 2005-06
Eight letterwinners do return for the Longhorns this season, yet only two of them (senior point guard Nina Norman and junior forward Tiffany Jackson) were full-time starters a year ago ... The Longhorns are led by returning All-American and preseason national player of the year candidate junior Tiffany Jackson ... The all-everything performer was UT's leading scorer (18.3 ppg), rebounder (8.7 rpg), shot blocker (1.9) and steals leader (3.4 spg) a year ago ... Senior guard Nina Norman, an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention Team pick, was fourth in scoring (7.8 ppg) and first in assists (98, 3.5 apg) last year ... The Longhorns welcome back eight letterwinners from last year's 22-9 team which advanced to the NCAA Championship second round after placing second to eventual national titlist Baylor in the Big 12 regular season standings... In addition to the eight letterwinners, UT's class of seven freshmen is the largest rookie class in Texas head coach Jody Conradt's tenure ... These seven were selected as the nation's No. 1 recruiting class last year by the All-Star Girls Report recruiting service.
What Returns
Letterwinners .... 8
Starters ............ 2 (Jackson, Norman)
Newcomers ....... 7
% of Points Returning ............. 49.2% (1,067 of 2,170)
% of 3-Pointers Made Returning ... 16.7% (24 of 144)
% of Rebounds Returning .......... 51.0% (564 of 1,105)
% of Assists Returning .............. 56.7% (231 of 408)
% of Steals Returning ............... 56.0% (178 of 318)
No. 2 in Big 12 Preseason Poll
Texas was picked second in the 2005-06 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll as voted on by the league coaches... Defending NCAA champion and league champion Baylor was picked first in the poll, gathering 113 points and six-first place votes... Texas was just edged out by the Lady Bears, as UT gained 110 points, including two first-place votes ... Last year, UT was the runnerup in the Big 12 race, posting a 13-3 mark in league play.
Texas won back-to-back Big 12 regular season titles in 2003 and 2004, winning outright in 2003 and tying with Kansas State the next year.
In the 2005-06 preseason poll, Texas Tech was a close third with the four remaining first place votes and 108 points. Oklahoma (91 points), Nebraska (70 points), Kansas (66 points), Texas A&M (59 points), Kansas State (56 points), Iowa State (45 points), Missouri (37 points), Oklahoma State (23 points) and Colorado (14 points) round out the poll.
Next Up: New Mexico on Breast Cancer Awareness Night
Texas opens regular season action next Friday (Nov. 18) with a 7 p.m. home game against the University of New Mexico ... In series play, the Longhorns hold a 3-1 series edge, including last year's 73-56 win on Dec. 16 at UNM ... That game has been designated "Breast Cancer Awareness Night" at the Erwin Center, as sponsored by UT Athletics .. At the game, there will be information booths about breast cancer prevention and treatments and "Stories of Hope", a video presentation involving stories from survivors and messages from the Longhorn players and supporters ... Group tickets also are on sale ($6 each) by calling 512/ 232-DUNK (3865) or go online at and at the women's basketball ticket page, go to the "Promotion Code box" on the screen and enter "CURE" to purchase these special group tickets.
Tough Schedule Ahead
This regular season, Texas will meet five of the top-10 rated squads from both the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Poll, and will face a total of seven of these Top 25 squads - with a possible eighth opponent as well (if UT meets Purdue in the Junkanoo Jam tourney over Thanksgiving in the Bahamas) ... This includes the Longhorns going against five of the top 10-ranked teams - Tennessee, Duke, Rutgers, Baylor and Connecticut ... In the AP preseason rankings, the five top 10 teams which Texas will face are: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 5 Rutgers, No. 6 Baylor and No. 9 Connecticut ... Tennessee is No. 1 in the USA TODAY/ESPN preseason poll ... Duke is ranked No. 2, Rutgers tied for fifth, Baylor is seventh with UConn ninth.
Texas meets Tennessee and Duke in back-to-back early games, with the Longhorns traveling to Knoxville, Tenn. and putting their four-game series win streak on the line against the No. 1 ranked Lady Vols (Thur., Dec. 1, 6 p.m. on ESPN2) ... Three days later (Sun., Dec. 1), Duke visits Austin for a 12:30 p.m. game to air on FSN (FOX Sports Net) ... Texas meets Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ on Friday, Dec. 30 (6 p.m., CSTV telecast) and then hosts Connecticut on Sunday, Feb. 12 (2 p.m., ESPN2) at the Frank Erwin Center ... Texas and Baylor will meet twice (Jan. 7 and March 1) ... The other Top 25 preseason teams Texas faces are its Big 12 opponents Texas Tech and Oklahoma... UT might have an eighth Top 25 preseason opponent in Purdue if the two teams meet in the second round of the Junkanoo Jam Classic in Freeport, Bahamas over Thanksgiving weekend.
Some Big 12 Teams Officially Underway This Weekend
Four Big 12 women's basketball programs will have their season openers this week ... Missouri will participate in the WBCA Classic Friday and Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz., with the Tigers face Clemson in the first round and either Arizona State or Vanderbilt in the consolation/finals ... Oklahoma is the Big 12 representative in the Preseason WNIT, as the Sooners host UW-Milwaukee Friday; if they win,, they will host the winner of SMU/Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday.
The Big 12 will have two representatives in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic for the fifth consecutive year... Last year, Texas hosted the annual tipoff classic which also featured LSU, Baylor and Penn State ... Texas beat PSU, 84-69 while LSU defeated Baylor ... This year, Texas Tech hosts the event Sunday and faces No. 3 LSU, while No. 7 Baylor will square off against No. 5 Georgia in the opener ... Both games will be televised by ESPN2.
The Preseason WNIT is an annual tournament involving 16 of the nation's top women's Division I teams ... A team may participate only once in a four-year period and only one institution per conference can play in the tournament in a year ... The tournament is a single elimination format with all games hosted by a participating school at its home facility ... The Big 12 has been represented in every Preseason WNIT since its inception in 1996, and the Big 12's record in the Preseason WNIT is 29-10 ... In 2000, Texas was a third-place finish in the Preseason WNIT with a 3-1 mark.
