The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 18/19 West Virginia
No. 16 Women's Basketball preview: No. 18 West Virginia [Jan. 14, 2017]
01.12.2017 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns looking to start Big 12 play 6-0 for the first time in program history.
No. 16/17 Texas Longhorns (11-4, 5-0 Big 12) at No. 18/19 West Virginia Mountaineers (14-3, 2-3 Big 12)
Time: Saturday, January 14, 2017 | 3 p.m. CT
Location: Morgantown, W.Va. | WVU Coliseum (14,000)
TV: None
Online: Free live stream at WVUSports.com
Radio: 105.3 FM (Roger Wallace, Chris Plonsky)
Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio |
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 16/17 University of Texas women's basketball team looks to open Big 12 Conference play on a six-game winning streak for the first time in program history on Saturday when it travels to Morgantown, W.Va., to meet No. 18/19 West Virginia. Tip-off in WVU Coliseum is slated for 3 p.m. CT. A live video stream will be available at WVUSports.com and the radio broadcast will be available on 105.3 FM in Austin.
The Longhorns (11-4, 5-0 Big 12 Conference) are riding a nine-game winning streak and are 5-0 to open Big 12 play for just the fourth time in program history. The 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2015-16 teams also opened their Big 12 ledgers with a program-best 5-0 mark.
"It's going to take mental toughness, for sure," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "West Virginia is terrific at home. It's been a hard place for us to play. Last year was the first time in Big 12 history that we won on the road at West Virginia. We know what we're getting into. They're coming off a loss in Lubbock [to Texas Tech] last night. They won't be happy and it will be a tough environment for us to play in. We will have to be really tough."
The Longhorns rank in the top-10 nationally in both rebound margin and blocked shots. Texas holds a +13.5 edge on the boards and has won the rebound battle in 14 of its 15 games this season. The Longhorns are averaging 6.2 blocks per game, which ranks 10th nationally.
Junior point guard Brooke McCarty leads the way for the Longhorns, averaging 13.8 points per game. She is shooting 47 percent from the field and has knocked down a squad-best 34 three-pointers. McCarty, who ranks second in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 44.7 percent, is her team's assists leader with 52 dishes on the season.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 12.5 points per game and ranks fourth in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.0. Freshman guard/forward Joyner Holmes contributes 10.8 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game with 19 blocked shots and 13 steals on the year.
Senior center Kelsey Lang is the team's leading rebounder (9.1 rebounds per game) and shot blocker (33 blocked shots). She also contributes 9.6 points per game and has tallied six double-doubles on the year. In conference games only, she is the Big 12's leading rebounder at 11.2 boards per game.
Texas and West Virginia meet for the 12th time in the history of the two programs, with the Longhorns leading the all-time series 6-5. Texas won all three meetings between the two teams last season, including the Longhorns' first-ever win in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers enter Saturday's game with a 14-3 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Big 12 Conference play. West Virginia is coming off a 75-66 loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday night in Lubbock, and has lost three of its last four games. The Mountaineers rank third in the nation in blocked shots per game at 6.9 and are sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense at 33.4 percent. Sophomore guard Tynice Martin leads the way for the Mountaineers, averaging 17.8 points per game, while junior forward Teana Muldrow follows with 13.8 ppg. West Virginia boasts the Big 12's leader in both assists (Chania Ray – 6.6 apg) and blocked shots (Lanay Montgomery – 3.47 bpg). Montgomery also leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 70.9 percent.
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 fifth all-time in NCAA history with 1,023 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 earned her 100th victory at Texas in the Longhorns' last outing against Oklahoma State. She is 100-50 (.667) at UT.
• Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Texas is 55-6 (.902) when playing in the Frank Erwin Center.
• Texas has won the rebound battle in 14 of its 15 games so far this season and holds a rebound margin of +13.5. The Longhorns rank fourth nationally in rebound margin.
• The Longhorns rank 10th nationally in blocked shots per game with 6.2 blocks per game.
• Texas is 0-4 this season against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. The Longhorns were 7-5 (.583) against ranked foes last season.
• Freshman guard/forward Joyner Holmes is the reigning Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang ranks tied for second in the Big 12 Conference in double-doubles with six on the season. Oklahoma State's Kaylee Jensen has recorded a league-leading eight double-dips on the year.
• Lang currently ranks eighth in UT school history with 144 career blocks. She needs 13 more blocks to surpass Joy Williams (156) for seventh place all-time.
• Lang has played in 119 games in her UT career. She needs to play in 14 more games to move into the all-time Texas top-10 list in career games played.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty has 138 career three-pointers made, which ranks eighth all-time in UT school history. She needs 15 more three pointers to surpass Erika Arriaran (152) for seventh place all-time.
• McCarty ranks fourth in school history in three-point field goal percentage with a .399 clip (138-of-346). 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.
PRE-GAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Karen Aston
"It's going to take mental toughness, for sure. West Virginia is terrific at home. It's been a hard place for us to play. Last year was the first time in Big 12 history that we won on the road at West Virginia. We know what we're getting into. They're coming off a loss in Lubbock [to Texas Tech] last night. They won't be happy and it will be a tough environment for us to play in. We will have to be really tough."
On what makes West Virginia such a good team defensively …
"What makes them so good is that's his [West Virginia head coach Mike Carey] philosophy. He finds players that don't mind defending and do not mind rebounding, and being physical. He recruits to his style. Coach Carey is a great coach and those players buy into his philosophy and they take a lot of pride in what they do. They're always tough to score on, tough to get easy baskets. We are going to have to be really diligent about the way we execute. That's been a little bit of a sore spot for us sometimes. It gets tougher as we go along. Execution will be really, really important for us."
On the importance of developing depth off the bench and expanding the rotation …
"I think it's a must. When you look at the teams in the league that realistically have either a chance to win the league or advance in the NCAA Tournament, they have some depth. They have bodies that they can put in and match up against people. Sug [Sutton] gives us a different look offensively. Lashann [Higgs] gives us a different look. And the [Caron-Goudreau] twins give us a different look. The more competitive we are when we substitute and there's not any drop off – which is what I expected this year and it caught me off guard – but I do think we are coming around as far as that is concerned."
On if the team's non-conference losses have motivated the team …
"I think they're motivated to do well. I think we've talked at length about how to get to the NCAA Tournament and those are things that we needed to address quickly because of the losses in non-conference. We need to gather as many wins as we can. I think if we continue to do well, we could put ourselves in a position to host [NCAA First and Second Rounds] again, so those are the things we have had conversations about rather than conversations about things we weren't really ready for right now."
Junior Guard Brooke McCarty
On facing West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown …
"West Virginia is a really good team and they play a really hectic defense, so I think we just have to follow the game plan, focus on us, limit our turnovers and stay poised."
On playing at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown …
"The stands are always packed there and it's just a good environment to play in. For a team that's young, coming in there, it can kind of be overwhelming. Since we've been in that type of situation this year, hopefully it won't be as overwhelming and I know that it will be helpful.
On the importance of developing depth off the bench …
"To get where we want to go, we have to use everybody on the bench. I think that a lot of our players are actually getting comfortable coming off the bench and making plays. You can see in practice that they're a lot more comfortable. I think we are going to need that down the stretch."
On if the team has been having fun during its nine-game winning streak …
"It's been very fun. You can tell we're growing every day. We don't really worry about the records. We're really enjoying each other and getting better every day, and that's what it's all about."
