#21/22 Texas (2-2) vs. Kentucky (2-2)
at the Jack in the Box Wahine Classic - Consolation 2nd Round
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007 · 5:10 p.m. Central
Stan Sheriff Center (capacity 10,300) · Honolulu, Hawaii
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TV: None
Radio: KVET Radio 98.1 FM (Central Texas): Chad Hastings, pxp; Carol Ross, color analyst Texas
INTERNET VIDEO: None
LIVE STATS: None
GAME DAY INFORMATION
In the National Rankings: Texas is No. 21, Associated Press Top 25 (media poll) & No. 22, USA Today/ESPN Preseason Poll (coaches poll) ... Kentucky is not ranked
Texas Head Coach Gail Goestenkors (Saginaw Valley State '85): 16th year overall: 498 games: 398-101 (.799); first year at Texas: 2-2 (.500)
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell (Mississippi State '95): 3rd year overall as head coach: 63 games: 32-31 (.508); 1st year at Kentucky: 2-2 (.500)
All-Time Series Record: 2nd meeting: Texas leads the series, 1-0
Texas' Home/Away/Neutral Record vs. Kentucky: 0-0 at home, 0-0 away, 1-0 at neutral sites
Series Win Streak: +1, Texas
Only Meeting: Texas 75, Kentucky 60 (Mar. 17, 1978, NWIT National Tournament semifinals)
Goestenkors All-Time vs. Kentucky: 1-0 (as Duke head coach) ... Duke 73, Kentucky 54, Dec. 29, 1995
A Glance at Today's Teams
Both Texas and Kentucky enter today's Wahine Classic consolation second-round game with 2-2 marks... Under first-year head coach Gail Goestenkors, Texas is ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll (the media poll) and No. 22 in this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the same positions UT held last week ... Texas has dropped its last two games, losing at No. 1 Tennessee 92-67 last Sunday (Nov. 18) and then lost a tough 86-83 game to Virginia in Friday's Wahine Classic first-round matchup ...This is the third of four consecutive games on the road for UT ...Texas posted season-opening wins at home against Missouri State (92-55, Nov. 11) and Lamar (94-35, Nov. 15) before traveling to Knoxville, Tenn. to play the defending NCAA champions ... Kentucky, under first-year head coach Matthew Mitchell, dropped its first round Wahine Classic game to Minnesota, 92-80.
Texas was picked to finish fourth in the highly-competitive Big 12 by vote of the preseason coaches, with the other three teams ahead of the Longhorns all nationally-ranked as well (Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Baylor) .. UT was tied for seventh last year (6-10) in the Big 12 while going 18-14
Kentucky was picked to finish sixth in the 12-team SEC preseason poll... Last year, with current UT assistant coach Mickie DeMoss at the helm of the Wildcat program, Kentucky went 20-14 and advanced to their third consecutive postseason with a third-round finish in the WNIT Tournament... DeMoss served as UK head coach for four years (2003-07), compiling a 71-56 mark while leading Kentucky to back-to-back 20-win seasons the last two years for the first time in 16 seasons.
Top Efforts from Raven, Kat Nash
Two guards - a sophomore and a freshman - are leading the way for UT through four games: sophomore Brittainey Raven, a 6-0 shooting guard, and 6-2 freshman shooting guard Kathleen Nash ... Raven has been in double-figure scoring all four games and tops the team with a 16.8 ppg scoring average ... This is the first time in Raven's UT career that she has had four consecutive games in double-figure scoring ... Last year, she was in double-digit scoring 10 times, and had three games in a row with 10-plus points.
Nash, last week's Big 12 co-Rookie of the Week, averages 15.8 ppg and has been in double-figure scoring the last three games, averaging 18.0 ppg in this span ... She gained her first career start against Virginia, scoring a team-high 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range before fouling out... With the absence of injured long-range sharpshooter Erika Arriaran, Nash has hit an impressive 60 percent from 3-point range, making nine of 15 treys.
Raven and Nash have been UT's top scorers in the four games, with Raven the top scorer against Missouri State (career-high 22 points) and at Tennessee (18), while Nash led the way against Lamar (career-high 19 points) and Virginia... The two are shooting a combined 51.1 percent, with Nash hitting at a 54.1 percent clip from the field and Raven making 49 percent of her shots.
Longhorn Stat Leaders
Six players are averaging 9.0 points per game or above ... Sophomore guard Brittainey Raven leads the way with 16.8 ppg ... Raven has been the lone Longhorn in double-figure scoring in each of the four games and is coming off an 18-point, 3-rebound, 3-steal effort against Tennessee and a 15-point, 3-rebound, 4-assist game against Virginia... Raven also is second in steals (11, 2.8 spg).
Freshman guard Kathleen Nash, last week's Big 12 Co-Rookie of the Week, averages 15.8 ppg and also is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg)... Nash came off the bench in UT's first three games and gained her first start Friday against Virginia when she netted team-highs of 18 points and three steals ... The 6-2 rangy rookie is hot from the 3-point line, hitting 60 percent from long range (9-for-15).
Sophomore redshirt point guard Carla Cortijo (11.0 ppg) leads the squad with 22 assists, a 5.5 apg average ... Cortijo had a season-high seven assists against Virginia on Friday ... Cortijo has been clutch from the free throw line, hitting 87 percent of her free throws by going 20-for-23 to start the season.
Rounding out the double-digit scorers are 6-1 redshirt sophomore Earnesia Williams (11.0 ppg) and 5-9 senior guard Erneisha Bailey (10.0 ppg) ... Junior 6-4 post Ashley Lindsey (9.8 ppg) leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 boards per game ... Lindsey has collected 12 blocks as well (3.0 bpg) while shooting 63 percent from the floor.
The Longhorns have been solid from the free throw line as a team, connecting on 77.3 percent of their free throws (75-97)... UT is hitting at a 49.4 percent clip from the field while limiting the opposition to 39.4 percent shooting accuracy ... UT is out-scoring the opposition by +17.0 ppg (84.0 to opponents' 67.0) and holds the rebounding edge as well (+6.3) with 40.0 rpg to the opponents' 33.8 rpg.
A Look at the Wildcats
Kentucky, 2-2, lost in Wahine Classic first round play to Minnesota, 92-80, despite shooting a season-high 52.4 percent (33-of-53) and getting a career-high 29 points from 5-10 senior guard Samantha Mahoney... UK could not counter Minnesota's offense, as the Gophers shot 63.3 percent (19-of-30) in the second half ... This is the Wildcats' third all-time trip to Honolulu and their second appearance in the Rainbow Wahine Classic... UK is 4-3 in all-time Wahine Classic games ... Kentucky was second at the 1998 tourney, losing to UCLA (65-54) in the finals, and then were third in the 2002 tournament.
Top performers after four games include Mahoney (18.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg), 6-6 senior post Sarah Elliott (11.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg), 5-11 freshman guard Carly Morrow (8.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and 6-1 freshman forward Victoria Dunlop (7.0 ppg, team-high 6.8 rpg) ... Mahoney is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, making 11 of 22 long-range shots, while Morrow is 9-for-19 in three's (.474) ... Kentucky is out-scoring the opposition by just +0.3 ppg (70.0 to 69.8 ppg) and is shooting 38.2 percent.
Texas-Kentucky Series
This is only the second meeting between these two schools in the sport of women's basketball, with Texas leading the series1-0 ... That meeting, however, was 20 years ago in the NWIT (National WNIT) postseason tournament ... On March 17, 1978, No. 15 Texas, under second-year head coach Jody Conradt at the time, defeated Kentucky 75-60 in the national semifinals... The next day, Texas lost to No. 12 Old Dominion, 70-60, in the NWIT title game.
Texas Vs. the SEC
Kentucky is the second SEC school that Texas has faced in the last three games ... No. 1 Tennessee defeated Texas, 92-67, on Nov. 18 in Knoxville ... In 88 all-time games against the SEC, Texas is now 49-39 (.557).
Next Up in Wahine Classic Play
On Sunday, Texas will face the winner or loser from the UAB-Lipscomb game in consolation action ... It will be the first meeting ever between Texas and one of these two programs.
Longhorns, Goestenkors Against the Wahine Classic Field
Texas has faced four of the other seven teams in this year's Jack in the Box Wahine Classic field - Hawaii, Kentucky, Minnesota, Virginia - and stands 7-4 against them all-time (.636) ... Texas is: 0-1 vs. Hawaii, 1-0 vs. Kentucky, 3-0 vs. Minnesota, 3-3 vs. UVa, and has never faced UAB, Hartford or Lipscomb. In her tenure at Duke, Goestenkors is 20-11 against the Wahine field: now 19-11 all-time against Virginia, 1-0 against Kentucky ... As Duke head coach in 1995-96, her Blue Devils beat Kentucky, 73-54, on Dec. 19, 1995.
Hitting The Boards
A point of emphasis for UT coach Gail Goestenkors and the players in preseason was rebounding ... Despite a lineup with one starter over 6-1 (that being 6-4 junior Ashley Lindsey) and only two players over 6-2, Texas has out-rebounded each of its first four opponents ... Through four games, UT has a +6.3 rebound margin (40.0 rpg to opponents' 33.8 rpg) ... Texas out-rebounded the imposing Tennessee lineup, 92-67, on Sunday .... From 2003-04 through 2005-07, Texas was the Big 12's top rebounding squad... Last year, however, UT (18-14) only out-rebounded half of its opponents (16 of 32) and just two of its final seven foes ... Texas finished the year with a +1.1 rebound margin per game.
Double-Doubles for UT
The Longhorns have registered one double-double to date - by 6-2 freshman guard Kathleen Nash ... Nash came off the bench against Lamar for career-bests of 19 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 15.
