The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 8 Women's Basketball preview: Tarleton State [Nov. 6, 2016]
11.04.2016 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and TexAnns square off in an exhibition game Sunday at 2 p.m. at Gregory Gym.
No. 8/6 Texas Longhorns (0-0) vs. Tarleton State TexAnns (0-0)
Exhibition Game
Time: Sunday, November 2, 2016 | 2 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Gregory Gym
TV: Longhorn Network (Fran Harris, Nell Fortner)
Radio: TexasSports.com (Craig Way)
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas women's basketball team opens its 2016-17 season on Sunday when it plays host to Tarleton State in an exhibition game at Gregory Gym. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CT. Admission is free and open to the public and free parking is available in nearby Brazos Garage. Texas Athletics also is providing shuttle service to and from the garage.
The game will be televised by Longhorn Network and available on the WatchESPN application for mobile and tablet. A live audio broadcast also will be available at TexasSports.com and on the University of Texas mobile application.
One lucky fan will have an opportunity to make a half-court shot for $10,000. UT Austin students who show up early to the game will receive a coupon for a free In-N-Out hamburger.
The Longhorns are coming off one of the finest seasons in program history in 2015-16. Texas posted 31 victories a year ago – its most since the 1987-88 season. The Longhorns made their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance since the 2002-03 campaign. Texas began the year with 16 consecutive wins for the third-best start in program history.
Texas returns its top scorer from a year ago in junior point guard Brooke McCarty. McCarty averaged 11.8 points per game last season and dished out 89 assists. McCarty, who played a squad best 31.1 minutes per game last season, was a 2016 Preseason All-Big 12 Selection and has been named to the preseason watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the nation's best point guard.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins averaged 11.2 points per game a season ago and shot a squad-best 53.6 percent from the field. Atkins was a 2016 Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. She scored in double figures on 16 occasions last year, including each of the Longhorns' four NCAA Tournament games.
Atkins and McCarty each were named to the Sporting News Preseason All-America Teams. Atkins was a second-team selection, while McCarty was named to the third team.
Tarleton State University is an NCAA Division II institution [enrollment 12,000] located in Stephensville, Texas. The TexAnns are a member of the Lone Star Conference. Tarleton State, which finished with a 17-11 record last season, has made six NCAA Tournament appearances, including five consecutive from 2010-14.
Texas and Tarleton State have met just once in a regular-season game in the history of the programs. The Longhorns met the TexAnns on March 5, 1976 in the Texas AIAW Tournament in Nacogdoches, Texas under the direction of Coach Rodney Page. Texas defeated Tarleton State 86-60 in the meeting between the two squads.
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 1,012 all-time victories.
• The Longhorns are seeking their 500th all-time win in the Frank Erwin Center this season. Texas has a 495-95 (.839) all-time record within the friendly confines of the Erwin Center, which opened during the 1977-78 season.
• Seven players on the current Texas roster are McDonald's High School All-Americans. The Longhorns ranks second nationally in most McDonald's All-Americans on current rosters.
• Texas head coach Karen Aston will coach her 300th career game as a collegiate head coach when the Longhorns open the regular season at Stanford on November 14.
• Last season, Texas had nine different leading scorers throughout the year. Brooke McCarty led her team in scoring on a squad-best 10 occasions.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang needs just one more blocked shot to move onto the Texas all-time career blocks list. Lang has 111 career blocks and, with one more blocked shot, she would tie Carla Littleton (1996-01) for 10th place all-time.
• Lang has played in 104 games during her Texas career. She needs to play in 29 more games to move into the UT all-time top-10 for career games played at 133.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty needs 11 more three-pointers to move onto the Texas all-time career three-pointers made list. McCarty has made 104 three-pointers in her career and, with 11 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 .385 clip (104-of-270). 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.
• Junior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fifth in UT history with a .822 free-throw percentage. Atkins has made 125 of her 152 career free-throw attempts. The school record for free-throw percentage is .882, set by Erika Arriaran during her career from 2005-10.
