The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
13-8, 3-6
K-State
15-6, 6-3
Women's Basketball drops 64-55 decision to Kansas State
02.01.2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2012
Final Stats |
| Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas - In a game that saw eight lead changes, Kansas State went ahead for the final time with just less than five minutes to play and beat the Texas Women's Basketball team 64-55 on Wednesday at the Erwin Center.
Chassidy Fussell scored 23 points to lead the Longhorns, including a career-high five 3-pointers. Ashleigh Fontenette also contributed a double-digit scoring performance, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Longhorns shot just 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from the free throw line, but out rebounded the Wildcats 40-30.
Three Wildcats finished in double figures. Brittany Chambers led Kansas State with 17 points, while Jalana Childs and Tasha Dickey finished with 16 and 10, respectively.
UT travels to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, Feb. 4 to take on Iowa State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
-Texas holds a 12-10 advantage in its all-time series against Kansas State.
-Held Kansas State without a field goal over a 10:11 span (from 1:08, 1st half to 10:57, 2nd half)
-Outrebounded Kansas State by a 37-30 margin
INDIVIDUAL
Ashleigh Fontenette
-Reached double figures in scoring (17 points) for the 12th time this season and 58th time of her career
Chassidy Fussell
-Scored 20 points or more (23 points) for the eighth time this season and 21st time of her career
-Reached double figures in scoring for the 19th time this season and 47th in her career
-Set a new career high in three-point field goals made (five) and tied her career high in field goals made (nine)
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gail Goestenkors
On the lack of an inside presence: That was huge. We need to have an inside and outside scoring presence. We all have to take responsibility. The posts need to do a better job of posting up and demanding the ball. The guards need to do a better job of getting them the ball. It's the whole combination. That's something we're going to break down on tape and see when the posts are open because they need to be more demanding of the ball. We also have to get to the offensive glass more because offensive rebounds will get you more points as well.
On the turnovers: We had mental breakdowns. You can't afford to have mental breakdowns and we did. The turnovers and the missed free throws were all mental breakdowns
On upcoming challenges: Every team in our league has gone through winning streaks and losing streaks. You find out what you're made of when you go through adversity and this team always responds to adversity. I expect us to play very physically and mentally tough, bounce back, and show the determination that is expected from a University of Texas women's basketball player.
SENIOR GUARD Ashleigh Fontenette
On the game: I think what Coach (Goestenkors) said - having a post presence - is important. We didn't do a good job, as guards, of getting the posts the ball today, and we're going to have to work on that more. We had too many turnovers and mistakes. We'll get better from this. We'll get back to practice, learn from our mistakes, and get better.
SOPHOMORE GUARD Chassidy Fussell
On Kansas State regaining the lead late in the game: (It was) turnovers and bad defense. You can play offense all you want, but if you don't get stops you aren't going to win the game.
KANSAS STATE QUOTES
HEAD COACH DEB PATTERSON
Opening statement: Classic Big 12 basketball. You have a game that comes down to the final two minutes of the basketball game. You have a game in which the lead continuously changed back and forth. It took a lot of poise and a lot of toughness to finish this one off. I thought both teams competed with a great deal of heart. In the end, I was just so proud of Jalana [Childs], who early in the second half had some looks and they just weren't going down. She could have very easily packed it in and gotten down. A younger, less mature player would have done that. When we need a post presence and needed a couple of baskets to take relief off of our perimeter, she stepped up so big and was a great finisher. She gave us a chance to come away from this one with a victory.
On designing plays at the end for Jalana Childs: Texas had really ratcheted the pressure in the back court. We lived through a couple of turnovers and steals off on-ball action. We were getting squeezed pretty tight to the sideline on the perimeter, so we wanted to see if we could loosen that up with some action to the rim. We got some great screens from Jalana [Childs]. She just had perfect timing. She did her job and came off her screens hard, put herself in position for a good solid catch and a finish. There is not one aspect about it that is ever as easy as it looks, but that was a segment where it was exactly what we were looking for. Players have to make the plays and they all did. It was just quality execution down the stretch.
SENIOR FORWARD JALANA CHILDS
On taking over in the second half: The beginning of the second half I wasn't really there. I wasn't present at all. When it comes to crunch time, you have to step up and make big plays. As a senior leader on the team that is what I did. I'm glad that my teammates and my coach trust me to do so. We have some great plays in our resume and we like to use them.
On the mentality of being down by eight points on the road: Don't give up. We have been in this situation so many times and we hate that feeling. It's like we can't get out of it; it happens a lot. We hate that feeling and we have to fight and stay together as a team. We have to be one brain out there on the court and stay composed under pressure. We are a bunch of players who have played together before. We have last year under our belt and we have been through a lot together. It is the fight that we love. We love that we can come to the locker room with the win and the will to fight back. Everyone would like it easy, but sometimes it is hard. We thrive off of that and that is how we win.
