The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
St. Edward's
Women's Basketball tops St. Edward's, 88-61, in exhibition play
10.27.2011 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 27, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns played big and won big in a Thursday night exhibition contest against St. Edward's University at the Frank Erwin Center.
Head coach Gail Goestenkors opened the game with Cokie Reed at center and Anne Marie Hartung and Ashley Gayle jamming as forwards -- all three stand at least 6 feet, 3 inches -- and the Longhorns capitalized on their advantage, rolling to an 88-61 victory against the Hilltoppers.
UT owned a 60-16 scoring edge in the paint, while also scoring 26 second-chance points. St. Edward's was limited to just 36 percent shooting on the night, and only two of the 13 Hilltoppers who saw court time scored more than 10 points.
The Hilltoppers tied the game at 16-16 with about 12 minutes still to play in the first half, but the Longhorns responded with urgency. UT closed the half by scoring 22 of the next 25 points and took a 38-19 lead into intermission.
Seventeen of UT's points during that surge were scored either in the paint or from the foul stripe.
Guards Yvonne Anderson and Chassidy Fussell executed a virtual lay-up drill all evening, and the backcourt duo combined for 31 points. Fussell led all scorers with 19, while Anderson totaled 12.
Reed hit 5 of 10 shots from the foul line to finish with 11 points, and Hartung added 10 on 5-of-12 shooting. Freshman Ronisha Major gave UT its fifth player in double-digit scoring with 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
TEXAS QUOTES
Head coach Gail Goestenkors
Opening statement: We got to see the freshmen, which was really important. I know they were a little nervous, but they did a nice job. Overall, I think we have some great teaching points to use in practice that will make us better.
On depth in the lineup: It makes our practices so much more competitive because they're playing in practice for playing time. They have to really compete in practice.
Freshman F Ronisha Major
On playing her first game at the Erwin Center: Coach said it's just like practice, we're just in uniforms, and there's more people.
On UT having a size advantage: We have a bunch of posts, so we have a big lineup and a small lineup. Our big lineup is very aggressive on rebounds, and we hope that works out for us in the season.
Senior C Ashley Gayle
On UT having a side advantage: It was just so great to be on the court and to have Cokie (Reed) back in the post with us. We have freshmen posts who are coming in and already contributing. It feels good to see it all coming together on the court, whether it's defense or rebounding.
On improving throughout the game: We just had to lock down on defense and get some tips and steals. We were missing those short, easy shots at the beginning. We really had to focus on making the first shot.
