The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Northwestern State
No. 14 Women's Basketball preview: Northwestern State [Nov. 23, 2016]
11.22.2016 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and Lady Demons meet on Thanksgiving Eve at 7 p.m. CT
No. 14/14 Texas Longhorns (1-2) vs. Northwestern State Lady Demons (3-0)
Time: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 | 7 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: Longhorn Network (Alex Loeb, Nell Fortner)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 14/14 University of Texas women's basketball team home returns home Wednesday to face Northwestern State. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center on Thanksgiving Eve is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally by Longhorn Network.
Texas (1-2) played three games last week, dropping a pair of matchups to top-15 opponents. The Longhorns are coming off a 79-68 loss at No. 10/9 Mississippi State last Sunday in Starkville.
Junior guard Brooke McCarty leads the Longhorns, averaging 18.3 points per game in a team-high 32.3 minutes per game. She is shooting 51.2 percent (22-of-43) from the field and has connected on 7-of-15 three-pointers. McCarty has dished out a squad-best 10 assists.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 14.3 points per game, while freshman guard/forward Joyner Holmes adds 11.3 points per game. Holmes is the squad's leading rebounder at 6.7 boards per game, while Atkins has swiped a squad-best eight steals.
"I think every opportunity they have to get on the court against an opponent is a good thing for this team," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "I think they learn a lot through good times and bad, and I think every day you see them try to take a mental note of what they need to be better in, and tomorrow is another test for us."
Texas and Northwestern State meet for the fifth time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 4-0. Texas defeated Northwestern State 86-33 in Austin last season. The Longhorns are 46-9 (.836) all-time against members in the current alignment of the Southland Conference.
Northwestern State is 3-0 on the season and is coming off a 93-42 win against Central Baptist on Monday night. Senior guard Beatrice Attura is averaging a squad-best 18.3 points per game. Sophomore post Cheyenne Brown follows with 14.0 points per game and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game. Jordan Dupay is in his first season as head coach of the Lady Demons.
QUICK NOTES
• Texas is one of just eight programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach 1,000 all-time wins. The Longhorns achieved the milestone on January 27, 2016. Texas ranks sixth all-time in NCAA history with 1,013 all-time victories.
• The Longhorns are seeking their 500th all-time win in the Frank Erwin Center this season. Texas has a 497-95 (.839) all-time record within the friendly confines of the Erwin Center, which opened during the 1977-78 season.
• Texas head coach Karen Aston won her 90th game at the helm of the Longhorns last Wednesday against Houston Baptist.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang recently moved into the top-10 on the all-time Texas career blocks list. She currently has 113 career rejections. Lang needs nine more blocks to move past Stacy Stephens (121) for ninth on the all-time career blocks chart.
• Lang has played in 107 games during her Texas career. She needs to play in 26 more games to move into the UT all-time top-10 for career games played at 133.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty needs five more three-pointers to move onto the Texas all-time career three-pointers made list. McCarty has made 111 three-pointers in her career and, with five more, would tie Vicki Hall (1988-93) for 10th place all-time.
• McCarty ranks fifth in school history in three-point field goal percentage with a .389 clip (111-of-285). Current Texas assistant Jamie Carey holds the school record in three-point field goal percentage at .418. Just three players in UT history - Carey, Kat Nash and Vicki Hall - have shot better than .400 beyond the three-point arc for their careers.
