The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Alabama State
No. 7 Women's Basketball preview: Alabama State [March 19, 2016]
03.18.2016 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and Hornets meet at 8 p.m. CT Saturday in NCAA First Round.
No. 7/7 Texas Longhorns (28-4) vs. Alabama State Hornets (19-11)
NCAA First Round
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
Time: Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 8 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, Nell Fortner)
Radio: 104.9 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Tickets | Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio
Pre-Game Media Session: Video | Transcript
Feature Story: Rodrigo Leads With Quiet Toughness
AUSTIN, Texas - The No. 7/7 University of Texas women's basketball team begins its NCAA Tournament quest on Saturday when it plays host to Alabama State at the Frank Erwin Center. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
The Longhorns (28-4) are making their 29th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and hold an all-time record of 35-27. Texas is hosting the NCAA First and Second Rounds for the first time since 2010 and the sixth time since 1997. Texas is 19-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at home.
Texas has posted one of the finest regular seasons in program history, notching a 28-4 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Big 12 Conference play. The Longhorns have recorded their most overall victories since the 2003-04 season and tied the 2002-03 club with the most Big 12 Conference wins (15) in school history.
"It seems like it's been a long time since Selection Monday and it's been a long week, and I think our players are ready to play," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "I've felt like we've had a really good week of practice. Our players came back from a couple of days off last weekend and seemed to be rejuvenated. I'm quite proud of the opportunity to host in Austin this weekend. We're looking forward to it. It should be a terrific challenge tomorrow night at 8."
The Longhorns are led by sophomore guard Brooke McCarty, who is averaging a squad-best 11.8 points per game. Over the last 10 games combined, McCarty is averaging 13.1 points per game in a team-high 33.3 minutes per game of action.
Senior center Imani Boyette follows with 11.6 points per game. She leads Texas in both rebounding (8.9 rebounds per game) and blocked shots (3.0 blocks per game). Sophomore guard Ariel Atkins adds 10.0 points per game.
Junior center Kelsey Lang is the team's second-leading rebounder at 4.7 boards per game. Senior guard Celina Rodrigo has dished out a team-high 118 assists, while McCarty has a squad-best 41 steals on the year.
Texas and Alabama State are meeting for the first time in the history of the two programs.
Alabama State (19-11) is making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, earning the Southwestern Athletic Conference's automatic bid. The Hornets tied Southern University for the SWAC regular-season title and defeated Southern 55-51 in the conference tournament championship game.
Alabama State is led by first-team All-SWAC selection Britney Wright, a junior forward, who is averaging 14.9 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game. Senior center Jasmine Peeples is the squad's leading rebounder at 8.5 boards per game, while adding 8.0 points per game.
QUICK NOTES
- The Longhorns are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history (1983, 1984, 1989, 2003) and are 10-4 all-time as a No. 2 seed. It is Texas' best NCAA Tournament seed since earning a No. 1 seed in 2004.
- Texas ranks fifth in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 1,009 all-time victories.
- Five Longhorns earned recognition on the All-Big 12 teams. Imani Boyette and Brooke McCarty were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, Ariel Atkins was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Empress Davenport and Celina Rodrigo were named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
- The Longhorns are 6-4 (.600) this year against top-25 teams, including a 2-3 (.400) mark against the top-10.
- The Longhorns have reached 28 overall victories for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
- Texas tied the school record for most Big 12 Conference wins at 15. The 2002-03 team finished 15-1 in Big 12 play.
- The Longhorns have won 14 games this season by 20 or more points.
- Texas has either tied or won the rebound battle in 26 of 32 games this season. The Longhorns rank 17th in the nation in rebound margin at +9.2.
- The Longhorns have scored 60 or more points in 28 of 32 games this season.
- Texas has shot 50 percent or better from the floor this season in six games.
- The Longhorns are 24-0 this season when holding their opponents to 60 or fewer points.
- All 13 available Texas players have seen action in 11 games this season.
- Texas leads the Big 12 Conference (all games combined) in turnover margin at +2.13.
- The Longhorns have had nine different leading scorers across their 32 games this season.
- Senior center Imani Boyette ranks 10th nationally in blocked shots with 96 this seas
