Dec. 29, 2008
Complete notes [PDF]
#4/4 TEXAS (11-0) at San Diego State (8-3)
Surf N Slam Classic • Championship Game
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 • 9 p.m. Central
Cox Arena (12,414) • San Diego, Calif.
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: None.
RADIO: KVET (1300 AM Sportsradio The Zone) will broadcast Tuesday's game between Texas and San Diego State. Fans can also tune into XM Satellite Radio Ch. 231 for all of the action. 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, 1-0. Last meeting: Texas 69-58 (Nov. 25, 1995; Austin, Texas)
NOTABLES
PERFECT START ... Texas has now started the season a perfect 11-0 just three times in its 35-year history. The Longhorns first accomplished the feat in their sixth season, 1979-80, and last went 11-0 out of the gate in 1985-86.
HOT FROM THE LINE ... The Longhorns are 52-56 (.929) from the free-throw line over their last two games. On the season, UT is shooting .754 (196-of-260) from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Kathleen Nash has connected on her last 26 free-throw attempts over a span of five games (last miss was her final FT attempt against Georgia Tech on Nov. 29), while her older sister Kristen leads the team with a 94.1% average (16-of-17).
SERIES VS. SAN DIEGO STATE
Tuesday's contest marks just the second meeting between Texas and San Diego State. The Longhorns won the only contest to date between the two teams with a 69-58 victory on Nov. 25, 1995, in Austin, Texas.
LAST TIME OUT: UTEP (DEC. 28)Kathleen Nash scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half to help No. 4 Texas to a 79-40 win over Texas El Paso on Sunday in the Surf `N Slam Classic.
Ashley Lindsey added 12 points and
Earnesia Williams had nine points and eight rebounds for Texas (11-0), which continued its best start since the 1985-86 team finished 34-0 to win the national title. The Longhorns will face host San Diego State in Tuesday night's championship game after the Aztecs beat Sacramento State 75-47. Texas used a stifling defense to jump out to a 14-2 lead as it held the Miners to one field goal in the first 7 1/2 minutes. The Longhorns, who held a 47-22 halftime lead, limited UTEP to 30 percent shooting in the first half.
A CHECK OF THE POLLS
Texas is ranked No. 4 in both the latest Associated Press poll (Dec. 22) and ESPN/USA Today (Dec. 23) poll. The Longhorns are one of six teams that remain undefeated in both polls. Texas compiled a perfect 3-0 record against Top 25 opponents during the non-conference season after first topping then-No. 25/20 Old Dominion 78-44 (Nov. 17) and later handing then-No. 7/10 Tennessee 73-59 (Dec. 14) and then-No. 21/21 Arizona State 81-71 (Dec. 18) back-to-back losses in Austin.
PASSING IT AROUND
The Longhorns have nearly doubled their opponents in assists through 11 games this season. Texas has recorded 186 assists to its opponents' 100, with senior guard Carla Cortijo dishing out 65. UT is averaging 17.3 apg, a mark that ranks 13th nationally.
TEXAS-UTEP NOTES
· Texas held UTEP scoreless until the 14:44 mark in the first half while starting off a 10-2 run.
· Texas improved to 11-0 on the season for the third time in school history and the first time since the 1985-86 season.
· Texas improved to 2-0 all-time against UTEP.
· Texas outscored UTEP 28-6 in the first 13:43 of the second half (6:17 left in the game).
· Texas limited UTEP to 26.3% from the field (15-of-57) and 18.8% from beyond the arc (3-of-16).
· UT's 47-22 halftime advantage was its second 25-point halftime lead of the season (52-27 vs. Furman, Nov. 23).
· UT has led at the half in 10 games this season.
· UT shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line in the first half.
· UT shot a season-high 95.7 percent (22-of-23) from the free-throw line.
· The Longhorns held a 48-26 rebounding edge.
· UT also held a 15-3 edge over UTEP on second-chance points.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Texas has held its opponents to an average of 52.1 points per contest and a combined 31.3 percent FG shooting, including a 43-of-177 (.243) mark from three-point range. UT has held nine of its 11 opponents to under 40% FG shooting and six to under 30% FG shooting.
RAVEN EYEING 1,000
Junior guard Brittainey Raven is on the verge of joining an elite club of Texas women's basketball players. After scoring a combined 36 points in Texas' last three games, Raven needs just 43 more points to become the 33rd player in UT history to reach 1,000 career points. The last player to eclipse the 1K mark was current WNBA standout Tiffany Jackson who accomplished the feat over the course of her sophomore year (2004-05).
PERFECT START (11-0)
Texas has now started the season a perfect 11-0 just three times in its 35-year history. The Longhorns first accomplished the feat in their sixth season, 1979-80, and last went 11-0 out of the gate in 1985-86. Additionally, head coach Gail Goestenkors has started the season 11-0 four times in her 17-year head coaching career (three times at Duke).
RAVEN LEADING THE LONGHORNS
Junior guard Brittainey Raven is living up to her Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention billing, as she put together eight-straight double-digit performances dating from UT's second win of the season (Saint Mary's, Nov. 16) through its win over then-No. 7 Tennessee (Dec. 14). Additionally, Raven has led the Longhorns in scoring in seven games. Raven leads Texas with an average of 15.7 ppg and ranks second on the team with 20 assists (1.8 apg).
REBOUNDING RUNDOWN
Texas has outrebounded its opponents in all but two of its 11 games. The Longhorns sport a +12.2 rebound margin (45.9-33.7) and have recorded at least a +10 advantage in eight contests. UT posted a season-high 52 rebounds in its 73-59 win over Tennessee on Dec. 14, and most recently outrebounded UTEP 48-26 at the Surf `n Slam Classic on Dec. 28.
THREE-POINT SUCCESS
Texas has converted 39.5 percent (64-of-162) from beyond the arc. UT is 6-0 on the season when shooting 40% or better from three-point range. The Horns recorded a season-high 5-of-9 performance (.556) against Arizona State (Dec. 18).
THE ASHLEYS DOMINATE
At 6-4, freshman Ashley Gayle shares the title of Tallest Longhorn with senior Ashley Lindsey. The duo share duties in Texas' frontcourt defense and have the potential to be serious threats to offensive attacks, as Lindsey is closing in on Texas' all-time blocks record and Gayle plays above the rim with a flat-footed, non-step vertical reach of 10-2. Lindsey's vertical jump reaches an even 10 feet. Through 11 games, the Ashleys have combined for 55 of Texas' 75 blocks, 10 of which came in Texas' 105-51 win over Furman (Nov. 23).
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Guard Kathleen Nash is far from suffering a sophomore slump so far this season. Nash netted a career-high 27 points in Texas' 81-71 win over then-No. 21 Arizona State (Dec. 18) and also tied the school record with a 12-of-12 performance from the charity stripe in the same game. Nash is averaging 14.3 points per game, which is second on the team to Brittainey Raven's 15.7 ppg. Additionally, Nash registered a season-high 12 rebounds against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a career-high five assists in the game.
LINDSEY CLOSING IN ON BLOCKS RECORDS
Senior post Ashley Lindsey has amassed 210 blocks in 100 games, placing her third all-time in the UT annals. Lindsey surpassed Tiffany Jackson (2003-07, 181 blocks) on Nov. 16, 2008, with four blocks in Texas' 110-76 victory over Saint Mary's. In addition, Lindsey's 94 single-season rejections during her junior year rank No. 2 in the UT season record books.
GAYLE CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Freshman post Ashley Gayle is quickly making an impact for UT defensively, as she ranks second on the team to senior Ashley Lindsey (2.9 bpg) with 2.1 blocks per game. Known as `A.G.' to her teammates, Gayle broke into Texas' all-time Top 10 freshmen blocks record with the 23rd block of her career against UTEP on Dec. 28.
