Dec. 7, 2011
Complete Texas Game Notes 
No. 25/24 TEXAS (5-2) vs. Michigan State (7-3)
Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011 • 2 p.m. Central • LHN
Frank Erwin Center (16,734) • Austin, Texas
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: The game will be televised by Longhorn Network. Andrew Monaco (pxp) and Rebecca Lobo (analyst) will call the action.
RADIO: KVET-AM 1300 “The Zone” will broadcast Saturday’s game against Michigan State. Craig Way (pxp) and Carol Ross (analyst) will handle the call.
SERIES: Tied, 2-2. Last meeting: Michigan State 71-57 (Dec. 5, 2010; East Lansing, Mich.)
NOTABLES
• Gayle and Fussell in National Rankings ... Senior post Ashley Gayle’s 4.1 blocks per game ranks third in the latest NCAA Division I rankings (Dec. 4) while sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell is ranked 12th nationally with a .929 (26-of-28) mark from the free throw line.
• Fontenette Joins 1K Club ... Senior guard Ashleigh Fontenette became the newest member of Texas’ 1,000 Career Points Club when she scored a game-high 22 points against Tennessee. Fontenette began the game with 998 career points and became the 36th player in UT history to accomplish the feat.
• Seniors on Point ... Senior guards Ashleigh Fontenette and Yvonne Anderson own 2.44 and 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratios, respectively. Anderson has dished out a team-high 38 assists, including a career-high nine assists at Tennessee, while Fontenette has added 22.
• Big 12/Big Ten Challenge ... The Big 12/Big Ten Challenge continues its second year with Kansas and Texas hosting contests. The Challenge is currently tied at 4-4. Texas Tech will play two games with its second scheduled December 17 at Illinois due to the uneven number of teams between the leagues.
Series vs. Michigan State
Saturday’s contest marks the fifth meeting between Texas and Michigan State with the all-time series tied 2-2. The two teams met last year in East Lansing as part of the inaugural Big 12/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 5 when the Spartans won a 71-57 decision over the Longhorns. Prior to last year’s contest, Texas and Michigan State had not met since the 2004 NCAA Championship Second Round when UT won an 80-61 decision at the Frank Erwin Center and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in school history.
Series History
Overall Series Record - Tied, 2-2
Goestenkors all-time vs. MSU - 2-1
Most UT points - 82 (Nov. 23, 1996)
Most MSU points - 80 [OT] (Nov. 29, 1997)
Fewest UT points - 57 (Dec. 5, 2010)
Fewest MSU points - 61 (March 23, 2004)
Largest UT margin - 19 (80-61; March 23, 2004)
Largest MSU margin - 14 (71-57; Dec. 5, 2010)
In overtime - Michigan State, 1-0
Goestenkors vs. Michigan State
Saturday’s contest marks the fourth meeting between head coach Gail Goestenkors and Michigan State. Goestenkors led Duke to a 67-52 win over MSU on Dec. 4, 1995 in Durham before defeating the Spartans (86-61; Mar. 26, 2006; Bridgeport, Conn.) in the 2006 NCAA Championship Sweet 16. Last year, Michigan State won a 71-57 decision on its home court as part of the inaugural Big 12/Big Ten Challenge.
Great Lakes State Connections
The Texas staff features a pair of Michigan natives in head coach Gail Goestenkors and special assistant Gale Valley. Goestenkors was born and raised in Waterford, Mich., and attended basketball camps at Michigan State before graduating from nearby Saginaw Valley State in 1985. While at SVSU, Goestenkors led her team to a 114-13 record during her tenure. Valley is a native of Lapeer, Mich., and graduated from MSU in 1981. A two-year captain for the Spartans, Valley earned four varsity letters (1977-81).
Check of the Polls
UT is ranked No. 25 in the most recent Associated Press poll (Dec. 5) and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today poll (Dec. 6).
Last Time Out: at #8/8 Tennessee (Dec. 4, 2011)
Shekinna Stricklen scored 20 points and eighth-ranked Tennessee held off No. 21 Texas for a 73-57 victory on Sunday. Vicki Baugh scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lady Volunteers, who turned a 49-38 rebounding advantage into 17 second-chance points and got 21 points off 16 turnovers by the Longhorns. Tennessee used an 11-0 run to take a 38-27 lead with 1:28 to go in the first half. Meighan Simmons hit a 3 and Baugh and Glory Johnson got back-to-back layups on the break during the stretch. Texas wouldn’t go away, and a 3-pointer by Chelsea Bass cut the Lady Vols’ lead to 59-53 with 8:50 to play. Two minutes later, Johnson hit a layup that launched a 10-0 run and put the game out of reach. Ashleigh Fontenette led the Longhorns with 22 points, and Chassidy Fussell scored 14.
Flashback: at #25/25 Michigan State (Dec. 5, 2010)
Lykendra Johnson and Kalisha Keane had 20 points apiece, helping No. 25 Michigan State beat No. 17 Texas 71-57. Johnson also had 11 rebounds for the Spartans. Kathleen Nash led the Longhorns with 17 points. Ashleigh Fontenette had 13 and Ashley Gayle finished with 10. Texas committed 27 turnovers and lost the rebounding battle 43-40. The Spartans led 31-27 at halftime.
Fussell Earns National and Conference Recognition
Sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell was named the College Sports Madness National Women’s Basketball Player of the Week (Nov. 28) and Big 12 Player of the Week (Nov. 28) after earning unanimous MVP honors at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown (Nov. 25-27). She scored a career-high 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including a 4-of-9 career-high tying mark from beyond the arc against No. 22 Virginia and averaged 20.0 points and 3.7 rebounds at the three-game tourney.
Texas Against Ranked Opponents
Texas sports a 1-2 record against ranked opponents this season. The Longhorns fell 72-59 to No. 5 Stanford (Nov. 11) in the season opener before topping No. 22 Virginia (Nov. 25) 79-53. Most recently, Texas dropped a 73-57 decision at No. 8 Tennessee (Dec. 4). UT last beat a Top 10 opponent on Feb. 1, 2009, when it handed then-No. 4 Baylor a 58-55 loss in Waco.
“Together, or Not at All”
Texas lived up to its team motto while in the Aloha State. Over the three-game span, the Longhorns accumulated 45 assists on 77 field goals. On the season, Texas has been credited with 107 assists on 174 shots (61.5 percent). Senior Yvonne Anderson leads the squad with 38 assists while senior Ashleigh Fontenette and sophomore Chassidy Fussell have passed out 22 and 15, respectively.
Threes Falling Again
After connecting on just 11 3-point field goals in the first three games, Texas hit seven treys in its 79-53 win against Virginia. Sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell tied her career-high with four made from beyond the arc in the win to pace the sharp-shooting Longhorns. Senior guard Ashleigh Fontenette’s 47.6 percent mark (10-of-21) from long distance leads the Longhorns.
Block Buster
Senior post Ashley Gayle became the Texas career blocks leader with her 290th swat against Alcorn State (Nov. 21). Gayle broke Ellen Bayer’s 21-year-old record of 289 career blocks set in 1990. Through 105 games, Gayle has totaled 309 career blocks. She also holds the single-season record of 117 set in 2010-11.
She Walks the Line
Sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell leads UT from the free throw line with a 26-of-28 mark (.929). Her only two misses came against Virginia where she was 8-of-10 from the line.
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