The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
No. 16 Women's Basketball preview: Texas Tech [Dec. 29, 2016]
12.27.2016 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and Lady Raiders open Big 12 Conference play on Thursday at 7 p.m.
No. 16/16 Texas Longhorns (6-4) vs. Texas Tech Lady Raiders (8-3)
Time: Thursday, December 29, 2016 | 7 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: Longhorn Network (Fran Harris, Nell Fortner, Tyler Denning)
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn (Craig Way, Kathy Harston)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
Video - Karen Aston Press Conference | Brianna Taylor Press Conference
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 16/16 University of Texas women's basketball team opens Big 12 Conference play on Thursday when it plays host to Texas Tech. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally by Longhorn Network.
The Longhorns (6-4) are 10-10 all-time in Big 12 openers and have won back-to-back league lid-lifters. Last season, Texas defeated West Virginia 65-54 in Morgantown, W.Va., on December 30, 2015 to open Big 12 play.
Texas was predicted to finish second in the Big 12 Conference this season, according to a vote of the league's 10 head coaches. The Longhorns finished second in the Big 12 Conference last season, marking the program's best finish in league play since 2004-05.
Texas Tech is the most frequent opponent of Texas historically, as the two teams will be meeting for the 97th time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 67-29, including a 32-7 edge when the game is played in Austin. Texas has captured the past six meetings between the two squads, sweeping the season series each of the last three years.
Junior Texas guard Brooke McCarty leads the way for the Longhorns, averaging 13.1 points per game. McCarty, who has scored in double figures in seven of her 10 games this season, has connected on a squad-best 22 three-pointers and has dished out a team-high 36 assists.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 12.1 points per game and a squad-best 17 steals, while senior center Kelsey Lang adds 10.9 points per game, a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game and a squad-best 2.1 blocks per game. Lang has five double-doubles in her last six games and, in the stretch of the last seven games combined, is averaging 13.6 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.8 percent from the field.
Texas Tech enters Thursday's game with an 8-3 overall record. The Lady Raiders are on a four-game winning streak and are coming off a 79-60 victory against UT Arlington on Dec. 22. Three Texas Tech players are averaging 13 points per game or better, led by sophomore guard Recee Caldwell's team-high 17.4 points per game, which is fourth among all Big 12 Conference players. Junior center Jada Terry follows with 14.1 points per game and is bringing down a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
QUICK NOTES
• Texas women's basketball is in the midst of its 43rd season of intercollegiate basketball.
• The Longhorns have won 12 conference regular season titles and 10 conference tournament titles.
• 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 1,018 all-time victories.
• The Longhorns consistently play a rigorous non-conference schedule. The Longhorns' schedule consists of six non-conference opponents that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 or further during the 2015-16 campaign.
• Texas head coach Karen Aston is five wins away from 100 on the Forty Acres. She is 95-50 (.655).
• The Longhorns on Dec. 15 earned their 500th all-time win in the Frank Erwin Center. Texas has a 502-96 (.839) all-time record within the friendly confines of the Erwin Center, which opened during the 1977-78 season.
• Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Texas is 52-6 (.897) when playing in the Frank Erwin Center.
• Texas has won the rebound battle in each of its 10 games so far this season and holds a rebound margin of +13.5. The Longhorns rank sixth nationally in rebound margin.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty has 126 career three-pointers made, which ranks eighth all-time in UT school history. She needs 27 more three pointers to surpass Erika Arriaran (152) for seventh place all-time.
• McCarty ranks fifth in school history in three-point field goal percentage with a .391 clip (126-of-322). 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.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang currently ranks eighth in UT school history with 132 career blocks. She needs 25 more blocks to surpass Joy Williams (156) for seventh place all-time.
