The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Houston Jaguars
Women's Basketball defeats Houston Jaguars, 94-51, in exhibition play
11.06.2007 | Women's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Behind game-highs of 21 points and nine assists from junior guard Carla Cortijo and 18 points from sophomore guard Brittainey Raven, the No. 22 Texas women's basketball team registered a 94-51 exhibition game victory over the Houston Jaguars club team Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
This was the final of two exhibitions for the Longhorns, and for the second exhibition in a row, the Longhorns relied on a balanced scoring attack.
In addition to Cortijo (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and Raven (Fort Worth, Texas), three other UT players notched double-digit scoring, with freshman forward Rachel Rentschler (Keller, Texas) and junior post Ashley Lindsey (Austin, Texas) each adding 13 points and junior post Aubry Cook (Houston, Texas) chipping in with 12.
On November 1 in its first exhibition game, Texas defeated Trinity University (San Antonio), 101-50.
The Jaguars, a club team comprised of current and former WNBA players and former collegians, shot just 27 percent in the game. Houston, now 0-5 on the collegiate exhibition game tour, hit just 21.4 percent of its second-half shots, making six of 28 attempted field goals.
The Longhorns shot 47 percent overall in the contest, making 37 of 79 field goals, and held a commanding edge on the boards.
The Jaguars were led by current WNBA Houston Comets forward and former Connecticut standout Barbara Turner. Turner (17 points) was the lone double-figure scorer for the Houston club. Guard Melissa Abraham, formerly of the University of Memphis, added seven points.
After leading by 11 points at halftime (43-32), the Longhorns quickly opened up the game at the start of the second period en route to out-scoring the Jaguars by a 51-19 margin in the final 20 minutes. Texas shot 50 percent from the floor in the final half, making 20 of 40 shots, and went 10-for-13 from the foul line.
In the first 11 minutes of the second half, UT out-scored the Jaguars 20-9 to pull ahead, 65-41 on a Raven layup with 11 minutes to go. Down the stretch, the closest the Jaguars would get was 22 points (67-45) on a Brandi Jones layup with 8:05 remaining. Texas quickly pushed the lead to 30 points, 77-47, on another Raven layup with 5:34 to go.
The 43-32 Texas halftime lead by paced by Rentschler, who had 11 first-half points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor, including a three-pointer.
After a tight first 10 minutes, which found the Jaguars leading 20-14 with 10:11 to go in the first half, the Longhorns responded with a 29-12 run to close out the period.
The 29-12 spurt was started with a three-pointer by Earnesia Williams to cut the lead to 20-17, and Cortijo followed with a jumper to slice the Jaguars' lead to one, 20-19, with 9:15 to play.
After a 3-pointer by Jaguar guard and former Longhorns player Nekeshia Henderson gave Houston a 23-19 edge, Texas took the lead for good on an Erneisha Bailey 3-pointer and layup by Lindsey. That put UT up, 24-23, with 5:59 to play.
In the first half, the Longhorns shot 44 percent, hitting 17 of 39 field goal attempts, while the Jaguars made 32 percent of their shots, going nine-for-28 from the floor. Texas, hurt by 13 turnovers, did hold a 28-17 edge on the boards and out-scored the Jaguars 16-2 in second-chance points.
For the game, UT out-rebounded the Jaguars by a 59-32 margin and held a 46-18 edge in points in the paint and a 30-11 advantage in points off turnovers. The Jaguars committed 26 turnovers to UT's 22. Top rebounders for UT included freshman Kathleen Nash with a game-high nine rebounds, and Lindsey, who collected eight rebounds.
Texas officially opens regular season play with a home opener on Sunday, Nov. 11, hosting Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State at 2 p.m. (CDT) at the Erwin Center.
Season tickets, individual game tickets (which are priced $10-16), mini-plans and group tickets currently are on sale for the 2007-08 Longhorns campaign.
Season tickets and single game tickets: Available for purchase the following ways: via TexasBoxOffice.com; at the Bellmont Hall Athletics Ticket Office (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) and the Frank Erwin Center Box Office (Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; gameday one hour prior to tipoff); at Austin area H-E-B stores; and by calling the UT Athletics Ticket Office Phone (512-471-3333 or 800-982-BEVO) or Texas Box Office charge-by-phone (512-477-6060).
Texas Basketball Ticket Mini-Plans: Two five-game mini plan ticket packages also are available ($60 per package), with arena-level seating. The "Orange Package" consists of games against Iowa State (Jan. 16), Oklahoma State (Jan. 23), Oklahoma (Feb. 3), Baylor (Feb. 13) and Texas A&M (Feb. 24), while the "Weekend White Package" consists of games with Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 16), Kansas State (Jan. 13), Missouri (Jan. 26), Oklahoma (Feb. 3) and Texas A&M (Feb. 24).
Mini Plans and group tickets are ONLY available for purchase by calling the UT Athletics Events, Sales and Services office at 512-232-3865. These packages are not available for purchase any other way.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS HEAD COACH Gail Goestenkors
Her general opening statement: This was a very good test for us tonight against an experienced team with WNBA players, former WNBA players and former college players. They were looking to push the ball throughout the game, and early on, they exposed our transition defense. We came away finding several areas that we need to work on, with one of them being our transition defense. We got better throughout the course of the game, however.
I was particularly proud of our freshmen tonight. They were a calming force for us and they took care of the basketball for us. Rachel (Rentschler) hit some buckets for us when we really needed them. Kat (Kathleen Nash) did a great job on the boards for us and because of that, she got us some extra looks at the basket.
I am also proud of how well Brittainey (Raven) and E-Bay (Erneisha Bailey) responded in the second half after starting out slow. E-Bay really got down on because of her offensive struggles in the first half. But, I talked to both of them at halftime and E-Bay then got better and played some of her best basketball later in the the game. The same goes for Brittainey. She came out for the second half and made her adjustments.
How different the game with the Houston Jaguars was from the first exhibition against Division III Trinity University: There was a world of difference. This is an experienced, testing group of players, some of who are in the WNBA right now. Houston was a much more athletic team with quickness, and they were playing the passing lanes. At times tonight, we weren't patient and we wanted to score quickly. Right now, we are looking to find the balance on when to score quickly and went to pull back. Those areas will take us time (to learn), and we'll continue to get better and better.
On Carla Cortijo and Rachel Rentschler scoring more: I think they both know that we need more scoring, and I think both are very capable of scoring. Rachel is playing at the post and it really opens things up for us at the `4.' Most post players aren't as comfortable defending from the three-point line and she is going to get some open looks. And, she has the green light (to shoot).
I think Carla does a great job of taking what the defense gives her. Tonight, they were giving her the open shot. I also think Carla is such a competitor that she knows when the team needs her to score, and she is going to score. I think you'll see several games where she will only score four or six points when other people are scoring for us. Carla, to me, is the consummate point guard in that she takes what the defense gives her and she is also aware of what the team needs from her, whether it is an assist, steal, or rebound. She is a great rebounding guard. Or, tonight for instance, we needed her to score and she became a scoring threat.
On opening up the regular season Sunday (Nov. 11) against Missouri State: It's going to be a great battle. I've seen them on tape and they are returning four starters, including senior guard Tahnee Balerio, the leading scorer in the (Missouri Valley) conference as well. They are a very disciplined team. They've got a new coach as well, so I am not sure if they are running the same sets as they were last year. But I know that they have a lot of experience, they have a great understanding of the game, and they work their tails off. Missouri State won the WNIT Tournament just a few years ago. We are going to have to definitely be ready to play.
FRESHMAN FORWARD Rachel Rentschler
On her early scoring tonight: During our practices, my teammates have been telling me to shoot more. When Carla (Cortijo), E-Bay (Erneisha Bailey) and Brittainey (Raven) would drive tonight, they would kick it out and create open shots for me and that gave me lots of confidence.
Her thoughts heading into the season opener Sunday: We just need to watch film and see what we did wrong tonight and come out in practice and have intense practices like we always do. Right now, we are working on getting better with each practice.
SOPHOMORE GUARD Brittainey Raven
On bouncing back from a bad first half, scoring-wise: I knew I was rushing my shot and getting down on myself. "Coach G" gave me a little pep talk at halftime, and I got my mind right and started to do the little things so that my game could come back to me, and it did.
Her thoughts heading into the season: I think these two exhibition games showed us a lot of things that we need to work on. We need to get in practice and work on those things and get better in the things that we are already good at. Right now, we are just working on getting better at everything we do and building on things in the exhibitions. We'll do the scouting reports on Missouri State in the next few days and have a better idea on what to expect from them.
