The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
14-6, 4-3Big 12
Oklahoma
15-6, 5-3Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 33 | 42 | 75 |
| Oklahoma | 22 | 35 | 57 |
No. 17 Women's Basketball snaps OU's home win streak with 75-57 win
02.03.2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2010
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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Texas coach Gail Goestenkors sent guard Ashleigh Fontenette to the low post in a bid to draw the fifth foul against Oklahoma star Danielle Robinson.
Even without getting the desired whistle, the plan worked so well that Earnesia Williams and Brittainey Raven got in on the action, too.
By the time they were done, the Longhorns (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) were well on their way to a 75-57 victory against the 13th-ranked Sooners on Wednesday night.
"We initially were just running it to post up Robinson but some of the other players also took it upon themselves to get down on the block and make some good reads," Goestenkors said.
The three consecutive layups finished off a 12-0 surge for the Longhorns (15-6, 4-3 Big 12) that pushed their lead to 56-41 with 6:54 remaining, and the Sooners never got closer than 11 after that.
Fontenette finished with 21 points while getting Robinson in foul trouble, and Raven added 17 points as Texas snapped Oklahoma's 20-game winning streak at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Longhorns started their big push on a putback by Ashley Gayle that also resulted in the fourth foul against Oklahoma center Abi Olajuwon. Erika Arriaran scored four points in a row after Olajuwon joined Robinson on the bench, but even Robinson's return didn't stem the tide for the Sooners as the post-up strategy paid off.
"They put such good pressure on the ball and in passing lanes, we felt like we could post up our guards a little bit," Goestenkors said. "There wasn't as much help."
Sooners coach Sherri Coale questioned her team's fire in that stretch and throughout the game.
"It was fundamental toughness," Coale said. "Not jumping to the ball, not getting in the proper position. If you don't do that and someone pins you, then you're in deep trouble. Just collectively, you have to guard them as a unit and we didn't."
The Longhorns shot 50 percent and held a 42-32 advantage on the boards, winning for the fourth time in five games after an 0-2 start in Big 12 play. The Sooners fell to 1-5 when getting outrebounded this season. They're 14-0 when controlling the glass.
"We just splintered," Robinson said. "I feel like everybody was on different pages. That's what it felt like. We weren't having fun, which helps us win. When we have fun, it's over -- for anybody -- and we didn't do that tonight."
Robinson fouled out for the second time in three games -- with the Sooners losing both times. She said she promised her teammates that's "not going to happen again."
"Whether the refs are calling it bad or not, I need to be in the game," Robinson said. "That's no excuse."
Robinson, who leads the Sooners in scoring, assists and steals, picked up her first foul only 62 seconds into the game and Texas kept going after her.
"I think that was a key factor because she runs their team," Fontenette said. "She's their main factor for their engine to go, so we just wanted to come out and attack and it happened to go our way tonight."
The Longhorns never trailed but had to fend off two separate rallies by Oklahoma after they had built double-digit leads to earn their second win in the teams' last seven meetings.
"I thought the big difference was intensity," Coale said. "I didn't think we competed. We didn't come out of the tunnel to compete and Texas made some great plays early, some really tough shots and we let it affect our confidence and then it affected us on the other end of the floor."
Texas rushed out to a 17-6 lead with some hot shooting early. The Longhorns made nine of their first 12 shots before cooling off to let the Sooners back in the game. Oklahoma cut it to 24-22 as Texas made just two of its next 13 field goals, but Raven scored the first five points in the Longhorns' 9-0 run to finish the first half.
The Sooners countered with nine straight points of their own early in the second half, getting within 35-33 on Carlee Roethlisberger's three-point play with 16:22 to play. Robinson picked up her fourth foul with 14:32 left while trying to guard Fontenette on a drive into the lane.
"We kind lost our momentum. When they went up, I felt like everybody kind of backed away instead of fighting back and D-Rob got in foul trouble," Thompson said. "I felt like we didn't link together when we had a little adversity."
POST-GAME NOTES
-Texas snapped Oklahoma's 20-game home winning streak, which was tied for the sixth-longest streak in the nation.
-The Horns defeated their second-straight ranked opponent and their third in the last four games.
-Texas handed Oklahoma its biggest home loss (18 points) since Dec. 21, 2005 when it lost 80-60 to Michigan State.
-UT improved to 22-15 all-time against Oklahoma ... UT also tied the series at 8-8 in Norman with the win.
-Head coach Gail Goestenkors improved to 102-82 all-time against ranked opponents and 15-18 while at Texas.
-The win marked the first time head coach Gail Goestenkors has beat back-to-back ranked opponents in Big 12 play.
-UT's 11-point halftime (33-22) was its largest since beginning Big 12 Conference play ... UT has lead at the midway point in four-straight games and 14 games overall ... Texas is 12-1 this season when leading at the half and 3-1 in league play.
-Texas held Oklahoma without a field goal for the final 6:22 of the first half ... the Horns closed the first half on a 9-0 run to lead 33-22.
-The Horns outrebounded their third overall and second-straight Big 12 opponent, 42-32.
Ashley Gayle
-Posted four blocks, giving her 66 on the season, tying the UT sophomore blocks record (66-Ellen Bayer, 1987-88)
-66 blocks this season tie for seventh on the UT single-season list (66-Ellen Bayer, 1987-88)
-Now has 126 career blocks, eighth on the UT career list.
Ashleigh Fontenette
-Scored 21 points (7-of-12 FG, 5-of-5 FT) for her third-straight double digit scoring effort
-Scored 10 or more points for the 10th time this season and 19th time of her career
-Scored 20 or more points for the third time this season and the fourth time of her career
-Led the team in scoring for the third time this season and the fifth time of her career
-Dished out team-high four assists
-Pulled down eight rebounds, her most since 10 against Texas Tech (Jan. 16)
-Led the team in assists for the ninth time this season and 14th time of her career
Kathleen Nash
-Pulled down team-high nine rebounds to lead the team in that category for second-straight game and the ninth time this season.
-Has recorded at least five rebounds in the Horns' last five games.
Brittainey Raven
-Scored 17 points (5-of-10 FG, 2-of-4 3FG, 5-of-6 FT) for her 20th double-digit scoring effort of the season and eighth-straight.
-Scored 10 or more points for the 83rd time in 120 career games.
-Now has 1,547 career points at UT, moving her into 14th on the UT all-time list.
POST GAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Gail Goestenkors
On the game: I'm just really proud of my team. This is a really difficult place to play, and OU's an outstanding team so for us to come in here and come away with a win is really big for us. OU did a great job in the second half. We knew they'd make a run and we talked about it at halftime, but I'm also proud of the team. They withstood the run. It's like they said they made their run, now it's time for us to make our run as well. Every time they decided to make a punch and they started to make a run I thought we showed some poise down the stretch. I thought we hit our free throws down the stretch as well to keep them from getting any closer. I'm just really proud of this team.
On dominating the boards: We talked about the fact that they (OU) does a great job on the boards. They're plus-5 in the conference; we're minus-1 in the conference. We said we have got to make up some ground. We have been out-rebounded in several of our games in the conference, and we know to be successful we've got to rebound our opponents. So it gets bigger every time. Last game we out-rebounded our opponents by two. We're trying to build on that, so that was huge for us tonight.
On how Texas broke into the OU defense: We were posting up our guards. We were bringing our posts high, and they put such good pressure on the ball and in passing lanes. We felt like we could post up our guards a little bit; there wasn't as much help. I think three different guards scored a layup when we were running that set. Initially we're just running it to post up Robinson, but some of the other players took it upon themselves to get down on the block and post up and make some good reads.
Texas Senior Guard Brittainey Raven
On what the win means for her team: Well going into the game, Coach said that they're ahead of us in Big 12 record and their overall record. We just wanted to come out and play the same way we did in the Baylor game and just try to play consistent and play every possession as hard as we could.
On how Texas' previous games helped the team win tonight: We know in every game both teams were going to go on runs. Staring in the second half, OU, they went on their run and I think they might have gone on for nine points straight. We just have to buckle down, start executing on offense and be tough on defense. I think games that we've won, these last couple of games, the team that went on runs and broke into the defense got stops.
Texas Sophomore Point Guard Ashleigh Fontenette
On how Danielle Robinson's foul trouble effected the game: I think that was a key factor. She runs their team. She is their main factor; their engine. We just wanted to come out and attack and it just happened to go our way.
On having reliable teammates to pass to: I think it's great. I think it makes us as a team a greater threat when people are trying to defend us. There are so many players on the team who can score and make key decisions in tough situations.
