The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
9-3
Idaho
7-7
Women’s Basketball defeats Idaho, 87-58
12.28.2013 | Women's Basketball
Enemkpali posts game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds in UT’s final non-conference contest.
Box Score (PDF) | Notes | Quotes | Photo gallery
AUSTIN, Texas -- Junior forward Nneka Enemkpali posted a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas Women's Basketball (9-3) to an 87-58 victory against Idaho (7-7) on Saturday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center. Enemkpali, who converted 7-of-12 field goals and 7-of-9 free throws in recording her fourth double-double of the season, grabbed six of her 10 boards on the offensive glass and added two assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes.
UT's defense, which entered the contest ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.316) and seventh in scoring defense (52.6 ppg), held the Vandals to 33.3 percent field goal shooting (20-of-60) on the afternoon. The Longhorns also recorded a +15 rebound margin (50-35) in the victory.
Freshman forward Nekia Jones joined Enemkpali in double-figure scoring for the Longhorns with 11 points and five rebounds in 12 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Celina Rodrigo recorded five points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Senior post Alyssa Charlston paced Idaho with a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Stacey Barr added 12 points.
The Longhorns opened the game on a 7-0 run over the first 1:49 on the strength of a Chassidy Fussell jumper, a Fussell three-pointer and an Enemkpali layup and never trailed. After a Barr three-pointer trimmed the margin to 10-7 at the 16:14 mark, Texas used a 19-0 run during a span of 8:10 to build a 29-7 lead after a Brady Sanders free throw with 7:44 remaining.
Trailing 36-14 after a pair of Enemkpali free throws at the 4:20 mark, the Vandals closed the half on a 12-4 spurt to close within 40-26 at the half. UT held Idaho to 33.3 percent field goal shooting (8-of-24) and forced 14 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
An Ali Forde layup at the 19:19 mark cut the deficit to 12 points (40-28), but that was as close as the Vandals would get the rest of the way. The Horns answered with a 16-4 run over the next 5:22, capped by a Brianna Taylor jumper with 13:57 left, to build a 56-32 cushion. The margin never dipped below 20 points for the remainder of the contest.
Fussell suffered a right knee injury at the 12:12 mark of the first half and did not return for the remainder of the contest.
The Longhorns return to the court when they open Big 12 Conference play at No. 11/13 Oklahoma State on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Central at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• Series: Saturday's game marked the second meeting in program history between Texas and Idaho. In the last meeting, the Longhorns won an 87-44 road game in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 1, 1986.
• Starters: Sophomore guard Celina Rodrigo, sophomore guard Empress Davenport, senior guard Chassidy Fussell, junior forward Nneka Enemkpali and freshman center Kelsey Lang started on Saturday. This is the eighth different starting lineup in 12 games this season and the third in the last three games.
• Texas concludes non-conference play with 51 consecutive victories against unranked nonconference opponents at home. Texas' last loss versus an unranked nonconference opponent at home occurred on Nov. 18, 2005 when the Longhorns lost to New Mexico in their season opener, 76-68.
• In the first half, Texas outscored Idaho in points in the paint (12-4), points off turnovers (13-8) and bench points (17-6).
• As a team, Texas posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (21-to-16, 1.31). This is the third straight game Texas has recorded a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Texas hit eight three-pointers, which ties for the third highest number of made three-pointers in a game this season. Texas connected on eight three-pointers against both Texas State (11/13) and Syracuse (11/28), hit nine against Sam Houston State (12/15), and made a season-high 10 three-pointers against Northwestern State (12/20).
• Texas outscored the Vandals in the paint (38-18), off turnovers (24-16), off second-chance points (16-15) and bench production (44-18).
• Texas grabbed 50 rebounds in the contest, which is the fourth time this season the Longhorns have recorded 50 or more rebounds.
Nneka Enemkpali
• Led Texas with 21 points and 10 rebounds. This is the seventh time this season she has led Texas in scoring, and the sixth time she has led in rebounding.
• This marks her third 20-point scoring effort this season and the eighth of her career, as well as her fourth double-double of the season and the 17th of her career.
Celina Rodrigo
• Dished out a game-high six assists and had only three turnovers. She carries a 4.8-to-1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last five games.
• Also had a season-high six rebounds in a season-high 27 minutes of play.
Nekia Jones
• Scored in double figures for the second consecutive game with 11 points.
• Grabbed a season -high five rebounds and played a career-high 12 minutes.
Brianna Taylor
• Tied her season high in points (eight) on 4-of-6 shooting and minutes (15).
Empress Davenport
• Hit two three-pointers (2-for-5) and has shot 50 percent from three-point range over the last four games (4-8).
Head Coach Karen Aston
Opening Statement:
You are always anxious to see how your team comes off Christmas break, and I was pleased. I was pleased with our conditioning and where we are physically right now. I think that is always a concern after you get through non-conference play. Is your team fresh? Did they come off a Christmas break and have energy? Are they fatigued? But I think we are in a really good place and, I was really pleased with the way we played. We gave up too many points at the end of the game, but that happens sometimes when you have a lead. But I thought we handled the zone really well. It was a problem for our team last year. So I am very pleased with the fact that we seem more comfortable against the zone this year.
On Texas' depth:
I think that is the most positive thing about our team right now that we have so much depth. We have two point guards that are playing well. Empress Davenport and Brady Sanders are playing well. Having Brianna Taylor back has really helped us at the wing position. And then we have Imani McGee-Stafford and Kelsey Lang that give you different looks at the five position. So I do feel like we are at a place where we could withstand an injury.
Junior forward Nneka Enemkpali
On the team's improvement over the past year:
We are just competing, and the maturity of our younger players is much better. Day in and day out in practice it is competitive. You never know who is going to step up. Everybody just goes after it in practice and I think that is carrying over to games.
On getting ready to start conference play:
I think everybody is going to be excited going into conference play. We are going to keep our hands level going in and just continue playing the way we've been playing.
Sophomore guard Brady Sanders
On how she feels about the team heading into conference play:
I feel great. Just how we have performed in non-conference so far and I know with our work ethic everything is just going to start falling into place. We never let up on each other, especially in practice, so I think you are just going to constantly see improvement from game to game.
On if her confidence has improved this year:
I would definitely say that I feel more confident in my own game. My teammates have put me in great positions to get my shot off and that has helped me build my confidence.
