The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
TCU
No. 12 Women's Basketball preview: TCU [Jan. 25, 2017]
01.24.2017 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns look to win their 13th consecutive game.
No. 12/13 Texas Longhorns (14-4, 8-0 Big 12) at TCU Horned Frogs (10-9, 2-6 Big 12)
Time: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 | 8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Schollmaier Arena (8,500)
TV: Fox Sports Southwest Plus (Chuck LaMendola, Janice Dziuk)
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio |
Karen Aston Pre-Game Press Conference
FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 12/13 Texas women's basketball team seeks its sixth consecutive win in the series against TCU when the two squads square off Wednesday in Fort Worth. Tip-off at Schollmaier Arena is slated for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
The Longhorns (14-4, 8-0 Big 12 Conference) have won 12 games in a row and are off to the first 8-0 start in Big 12 Conference play in program history. Texas has won the rebound battle in 16 of its 18 games this season and holds a rebound margin of +12.2. The Longhorns rank fourth nationally in rebound margin.
Texas is led by junior point guard Brooke McCarty, who is averaging a squad-best 13.8 points per game, which ranks 12th in the Big 12. McCarty has knocked down a squad-best 40 three-pointers this season and 144 for her career. She needs nine more three-pointers to move into sole possession of seventh place on the school's all-time career three-pointers made list. McCarty has dished out a team-best 60 assists on the season and ranks third in the Big 12 with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 13.1 points per game, which ranks 15th in the Big 12, and is third in the conference in steals per game at 2.1. Freshman guard/forward Joyner Holmes, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Week, follows with 11.7 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Holmes has recorded back-to-back doubles and averaged 16.5 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game last week.
Senior center Kelsey Lang is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 8.5 boards per game, which ranks third in the Big 12 Conference. Lang also contributes a squad-best 35 blocks this season and 9.6 points per game. She is nearing the 1,000-point milestone, as she has 950 points for her career and needs 50 more to become the 41st member of the school's 1,000-point club.
Texas and TCU meet for the 42nd time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 39-2. The Longhorns, who have won five consecutive meetings, are 18-2 all-time against the Frogs when the game is played in Fort Worth. Texas defeated TCU 83-54 earlier this season on January 7 in Austin.
TCU enters Wednesday's game with a 10-9 overall record and a 2-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play. The Horned Frogs have won two of their last three games and are coming off an 83-68 victory against Kansas on Sunday. TCU is shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range, which ranks second in the Big 12 and 14th nationally. Junior guard AJ Alix ranks in the top-20 in the league in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game, while dishing out 4.4 assists per game. Sophomore Jordan Moore is the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per game, including a career-high 16 in the team's last outing against Kansas.
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 1,026 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 103-50 (.673) in her fifth season at the helm of the Longhorns. With the team's most recent win at Texas Tech on Saturday, Aston became the program's second-winningest coach in UT history behind Jody Conradt's 783 victories on the Forty Acres.
• Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Texas is 56-6 (.903) when playing in the Frank Erwin Center. The Longhorns are 27-2 (.931) at home over the past two seasons.
• Texas has won the rebound battle in 16 of its 18 games so far this season and holds a rebound margin of +12.2. The Longhorns rank fourth nationally in rebound margin.
• The Longhorns rank 23rd nationally in blocked shots per game with 5.5 blocks per game.
• Texas is 2-4 this season against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. The Longhorns were 7-5 (.583) against ranked foes last season.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang currently ranks eighth in UT school history with 146 career blocks. She needs 11 more blocks to surpass Joy Williams (156) for seventh place all-time.
• Lang has played in 122 games in her UT career. She needs to play in 11 more games to move into the all-time Texas top-10 list in career games played.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty has 144 career three-pointers made, which ranks eighth all-time in UT school history. She needs nine 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 .397 clip (144-of-363). 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.
• Up next, Texas returns home to play host to No. 22/23 West Virginia on Sunday as part of Exes Weekend. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by FS1.
