The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Colorado
Longhorns hand Colorado 10th straight defeat
02.23.2005 | Women's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- It took 11 seconds to get a hint of the type of night Colorado was about to have against No. 13 Texas.
The Buffaloes won the opening tip, then turned the ball over on a 3-second violation under the basket. Given the ball, the Longhorns' Jamie Carey hit a short jumper on the other end -- and the rout was on.
Heather Schreiber scored 17 points, Carey added 16 and the Longhorns forced 20 first-half turnovers to quickly run away with an 83-40 victory Wednesday night.
"I think we're just kind of putting all the pieces together," said Schreiber, who played just 16 minutes as the score got out of hand. The senior was 7-of-8 from the field in another solid game after a long scoring slump over the first two months of the season.
"We focused on trying to run the floor for transition buckets," she said. "It's one of our strengths and one we should have been using to our advantage."
Colorado (8-17, 1-13), which finished third in the Big 12 last season, has lost a school record 10 in a row, breaking the mark of nine set in 1975, the program's first season.
Jackie McFarland scored 13 to lead the Buffaloes, who also set a school record for worst shooting performance at 23 percent, including a miserable 5 of 35 effort in the second half.
Colorado coach Ceal Barry declined postgame interviews.
"There are nights they are going to make those shots," said Texas coach Jody Conradt. "I think we've all gone through times that are good and times that aren't. Right now, she's got a very inexperienced team."
With the turnovers coming in waves from the start, Texas seized control by racing to a 16-3 lead. Colorado didn't have a rebound for the first 5 minutes.
Texas kept up the pressure on defense and kept converting the turnovers into transition baskets. The Longhorns scored 26 points off Colorado's first-half turnovers and led 48-22 at halftime.
In the second, Schreiber scored the first two baskets, Carey hit a 3-pointer and followed it with a steal and layup and Texas led 57-24.
Conradt rested all her starters with Texas leading 64-27 with 15 minutes left. Colorado cut the turnovers to just seven in the second half but it didn't make any difference. The Longhorns kept building their lead as the Buffaloes kept misfiring their shots.
All 13 Longhorns who got in the game played at least 11 minutes.
"It's good to have an opportunity to play a lot of people and share minutes this time of the season," Conradt said.
Texas finished with 35 points off turnovers and outscored Colorado 40-10 in the paint. The Longhorns have won 26 straight Big 12 home games.
POSTGAME NOTES
• The win moves Texas to 18-7 overall and to 11-3 in the Big 12 ... The Longhorns are now 9-1 in the last 10 games, 10-2 in the last 12
• With the victory, Texas increased its win streak to five games - tying its season's best win streak
• The loss for Colorado (8-17, 1-13 in Big 12) was the Buffs' 10th loss in a row, setting the school record for most consecutive losses ... This was a school record for lowest shooting percentage, as the Buffs shot just 23.2 percent (13-56) from the field
• The 83 points by the Longhorns was the second highest UT point total on the year ... The season high is 84 points against Penn State on Nov. 14 (84-69 win) in the season opener
• The victory also was the Longhorns' 26th straight win at home in Big 12 play - dating back to January of 2002 ... This is the longest current homecourt win streak in the Big 12 ... Texas is now 12-1 at home with one home game remaining - against Big 12 foe Oklahoma this Saturday (Feb. 26, 7 p.m.) on "Texas Basketball Senior Night"
• The Buffs turned the ball over 27 times - third most TO's by a Longhorn opponent this year ... Colorado had 19 turnovers in the first half
• Texas is now 14-4 when leading at the half ... The Longhorns held a 48-22 edge at intermission
• Sophomore Tiffany Jackson (16 points) was in double-figure scoring for her team-high 22nd time; Jamie Carey (16 points) was in double-figure scoring for the 17th time (second most on club); senior F Heather Schreiber (game-high 17 points) was in double-figure scoring for the 14th time - including the sixth time in the last eight games
• For Texas, points off turnovers and points in the paint were significant; the Longhorns dominated in both categories, with 34 points off turnovers to CU's four; in points in the paint, Texas held a 40-10 edge ... At halftime, Texas led in points off turnovers by a 26-2 margin and also led in scoring in the paint (26 to 8)
• Sophomore center Kalee Carey finished with a career-high five blocks (three more than her previous game high of two blocks vs. Southern in last year's NCAA first round game)• Texas out-rebounded its ninth opponent in a row, holding a 49-33 edge on the boards
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Jody Conradt
On the game in general...
"The best thing about today was our energy early on. We stressed in practice this week pushing the ball and we definitely accomplished that. It was good to share minutes with a lot of people tonight, especially at this point in the season and especially since we know we'll be pushed Saturday by Oklahoma."
We've all gone through times that are good and times that are not. I have a great deal of respect for Ceal (CU head coach Ceal Barry). She's built a program which has stood the test of time. Right now, she has a very young team. Ceal is a competitor, and she'll use the tough times to come back stronger. Colorado took a lot of good shots tonight which I thought would go down. I felt like they got a lot of good looks at the basket and we ended up doing a good job on the boards."
On Heather Schreiber (game-high 17 points) wearing a protective face mask for the second straight game...
"This season, Heather has taken two big blows to her nose. This is being worn as a precaution. There's a possibility that another blow could put her out of commission for awhile. It is protection for her, but also gives me security that she'll be able to play. This is just another example of Heather doing what she needs to do to help the team."
On Saturday's game (7 p.m. Central) being the final home game for Texas' six seniors and what they mean to the Texas program and to the fans...
"We need to have a big turnout Saturday, for two reasons - it's Oklahoma and it's Senior Night. I want to say this about this group of seniors. I want to recognize the great contributions they've made to our program. Not only are they great players, but wonderful human beings. They are either all close to graduation, or, in one case (Jamie Carey's) past graduation. We owe it to them to have a great turnout on Saturday. I encourage everyone to get here on Saturday. Our seniors have laid it out on the line for this community time after time. I sincerely hope we have a great crowd to show appreciation for what this group of seniors has meant to the program."
Senior G Jamie Carey
On UT's play and on the fact that there are only two regular season games remaining..
"We came out with lots of energy and fight - we just need to keep it rolling. I've grown up watching Coach Barry coach - ever since second or third grade. It's fun to play against Colorado. I have a lot of respect for what she's done. Although the game wasn't close, they showed a lot of fight and character out there, just like their coach.
At the end of the year, it always comes down to finishing, and the most successful teams are those who finish well. We have two (regular season) games left, and need to finish strong. We want to got into the Big 12's and the NCAA's with lots of momentum. And, like Coach said, we face a difficult task on Saturday. You just have to focus on one game at a time and go from there."
Senior F Heather Schreiber
On Texas' defensive mindset...
"We have a defensive mindset going into every game. It is our strength. With Colorado, they like to run the triangle offense and play a half-court game. They can hurt you if they get dribble penetration and kick outs. So, we knew we had to pressure this team, but it is something (pressure) we try to do each game."
On her offensive output and wearing a protective face mask for the second straight game ...
"Right now, I think we really are putting the pieces together. We are now focused on running the ball and getting more transition buckets. We've been watching film recently, and we've seen that we haven't been using that strength as much as we should have. We need to make sure we do now on.
This mask is just something protecting my nose. I got hit with an elbow in practice last Thursday, but it's (the nose) not that sore anymore. For me, wearing this mask is like wearing knee pads; if you slide or dive with the kneepads, or you get hit with the mask on, you won't be able to get hurt."
On Saturday night's game - the final home game for the six Longhorn seniors...
"It's all starting to sink in for us right now. I know that it is going to be emotional for us before the game. It's golng to be an emotional night. But, at the same time, we know we have a tough job ahead of us in playing Oklahoma."
