The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
6-6 (0-2) #23
Baylor
11-1 (1-1) #4
No. 4 Baylor stops No. 23 Women's Baketball, 61-48
01.07.2006 | Women's Basketball
WACO, Texas -- Senior post Sophia Young scored 25 points and added 15 rebounds, both game highs, and the Lady Bears held a 25-4 edge in second-chance points, as No. 4 Baylor posted a 61-48 Big 12 women's basketball victory over No. 23 Texas Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor, now 11-1 overall, evened its Big 12 mark at 1-1 as it extended its home-court winning streak to 23 games. The Longhorns (6-6 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12) lost their third straight game, the first three-game losing streak in four years dating back 124 games. It also was the first time in Texas basketball history that the Longhorns had lost their first two conference games -- in its 10 Big 12 seasons or in 14 seasons in the Southwest Conference before that.
Texas was paced by three players in double-figure scoring, with junior post Tiffany Jackson (Dallas, Texas) leading the way with 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Nina Norman (Houston, Texas) added 16 points while freshman guard Erika Arriaran (Norco, Calif.) had 11 points. The 48 points for Texas were the Longhorns' lowest game point total of the year.
Neither team shot well from the floor, with BU shooting 33.3 percent (21-for-63) and Texas shooting 31.6 percent (18 of 57). In the second half, Baylor out-rebounded Texas by a 27-17 margin and ended the game with a rebound margin of 46-38.
Baylor missed its first seven shots after halftime. Texas went in front, 28-27, on Jackson's three-point play and a free throw by Norman with 18:46 to go. That was the last lead of the game for the Longhorns, who then watched the Lady Bears go on a 13-1 run over the next 6:30, capped by a Chameka Scott putback for a 40-29 Baylor lead with 12:14 remaining. In BU's 13-1 run, the Longhorns turned the ball over five times and missed three field goal shots.
With Baylor up 40-29, Texas countered with an Arriaran jumper to make it 40-31. Baylor scored the game's next four points on a Young layup and Rachel Allison jumper on the next two possessions, to push the lead to 44-31 with 10:20 to go. Texas brought it back to within nine, 44-35 following back-to-back jumpers by Norman and Jackson, but that was the closest Texas could get down the stretch.
The Longhorns made a strong run late in the first half, and went into halftime down by three, 27-24. In the first half, the biggest lead was seven points by Baylor (11-4). Young had 15 points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Joining Young in double-figure scoring for Baylor was sophomore guard Angela Tisdale (13 points).
For the game, the Longhorns had 19 turnovers while Baylor had 15. Baylor made five of its 13 3-point attempts, while the Longhorns were two-for-nine from long range.
The game closed a three-game road swing for the Longhorns, who now return home to the Frank Erwin Center this week for two home games. It will be the first time since December 21st that the Longhorns play in Austin. UT faces Big 12 opponent Iowa State on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m., and then hosts Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Erwin Center. Neither game is televised, but both will air live on KVET Radio/1300 AM in Central Texas and on the internet via subscription-based Yahoo! Sports (found at www.TexasSports.com).
Texas Basketball tickets may be purchased in many ways: via TexasBoxOffice.com or by calling 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.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Baylor, the defending NCAA champion, Big 12 regular season and tournament champion, improves to 11-1 and to 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while Texas drops to 6-6 and to 0-2 in Big 12 play.
- Junior forward Tiffany Jackson led Texas with 19 points (10th game in double figures) and nine rebounds. Senior guard Nina Norman added 16 points, marking her seventh game in double figures. With 11 points, freshman guard Erika Arriaran notched her eighth game in double figures.
- Baylor All-America senior forward Sophia Young entered the game needing 15 points to reach the 2,000-point milestone. Young finished with a game-high 25 points and 15 rebounds, and now has 2,010 career points.
- Texas leads the all-time series between the two schools, 52-16. Texas falls to 21-11 in games played in Waco.
- Now at 0-4, Texas remains winless in road contests this year.... The Longhorns are 4-2 at home and 2-0 in neutral site games.
- Texas' 0-2 record in conference play marks the first such 0-2 start in league play in the history of the program. This includes all 10 years of Big 12 play and all years of Southwest Conference play, which started during the 1982-83 season.
- On the year, Texas is now 0-3 against top-five opponents and 0-4 against top-10 teams.
- Texas head coach Jody Conradt remains ONE VICTORY SHY of tying the legendary coach Adolph Rupp for the No. 3 position in all-time college basketball victories. Conradt has 875 career wins, while Rupp finished his career with 876. Conradt already is the second winningest women's college coach in history.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Jody Conradt
The game in general: We certainly are not a well-oiled machine on offense right now, and we can't seem to play for 40 minutes. I thought we played about as well as we could defensively in the first half. We fought and scratched and actually got the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. But then, we hit a part of the game where I didn't recognize what we were doing or trying to do. It was pop-a-shot for us out there, which is disappointing. There is one statistic which sums up this game. Second chance points: UT 4, Baylor 24. That pretty much says it all. Against a very good team, we didn't work hard enough on hustle plays. Intensity and focus are not our strengths right now with this young, injured team. It is very hard asking young players, just six months out of high school basketball, to not take plays off. That's what we are focusing on right now.
Baylor's guards certainly were not shooting the way they did the other night against Missouri - they were something like 10-for-40 in that game. They hit some crucial three's today.
We really were disappointing in our rebounding. The guards need to get in the mix on the boards, too. Aubry Cook has had a couple of strong games for us, but today, she got into foul trouble early and was not a factor, while Ashley Lindsey was in and out of the game all day long. I cannot ask for anything else effort-wise from Tiffany Jackson. She gives her all every minute out there. But, we didn't get anything or anyone going opposite Tiffany on the boards. Baylor had five offensive rebounds in the first half, and then 13 offensive boards in the second half. That's unacceptable. Look where we ended up in rebounding. We had a two-rebound edge in the first half (21-19). Then, we end the game being out-rebounded 46-38.
On the play of Baylor senior All-American Sophia Young (game-highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds): Great players always find a way to score. Sophia plays so very well. We did not want to have her roaming around in the post today. Last year, she and Steffanie Blackmon were a load in the post, and today, I really could not tell they were missing much on the boards without Blackmon. Good players like Young find a way to get their points. The question we should have asked ourselves today is, 'what are the other players doing around her?'
Her perception of where the Longhorns are right now: We need to keep working. I know it may sound like a worn-out answer, but that is where we are right now. We are getting better. They (the UT players) are really, really trying to make it happen. We are very thin at the guard spots with our injuries, and we don't have enough offensive punch with certain lineups on the floor. Erika (Arriaran) is still learning that this is not high school where she could come down and just shoot and shoot and get her team back into the game. And, sometimes we just dump the ball into Tiffany and stand back and watch her work.
At the beginning of the season, we had three players who were getting ready to be in the starting lineup - Erika Arriaran, Earnie Williams and Carla Cortijo. Well, two of those three had knee surgery yesterday and aren't here. But, that's our reality. There are no excuses to be given. It's about finding a way to win. It's hard right now for us.
