The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 6/6 Stanford
No. 14 Women's Basketball preview: No. 6 Stanford [March 24, 2017]
03.23.2017 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and Cardinal meet on Friday in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
No. 14/15 Texas Longhorns (25-8, 15-3 Big 12) vs. No. 6/6 Stanford Cardinal (30-5, 15-3 Pac-12)
Time: Friday, March 24, 2017 | 8 p.m. CT
Location: Lexington, Ky. | Rupp Arena (23,000)
TV: ESPN (Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, Allison Williams)
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio |
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 14/15 University of Texas women's basketball team looks to advance to its 10th NCAA Regional Final in program history when it faces No. 6/6 Stanford on Friday in the NCAA Regional Semifinals at Lexington, Ky. Tip-off in Rupp Arena is slated for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
The Longhorns (25-8) are participating in the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the 14th time in program history and the third consecutive year. This marks the first time since 2002-04 that UT has played in three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16s. Texas advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals with wins against Central Arkansas (78-50) and No. 17/17 N.C. State (84-80) last weekend at the Frank Erwin Center.
Texas is making the program's 30th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, making the Longhorns just the fourth program in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament history to make 30 or more appearances. The Longhorns are 40-28 (.589) all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including an 8-3 mark under head coach Karen Aston. The Longhorns are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history. Texas is 6-4 all-time when playing as a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs.
"We understand how good Stanford is," Aston said. "I think our team will be very motivated just in a sense of we're back in the Sweet 16. But I also think that them being able to press the reset button and take the one-game-at-a-time mantra that we've been trying to get them to take will be very easy. They have a lot of respect for Stanford and they know how good we will have to play to beat them. They're seeded better than us, they're supposed to win, and it will take a really special effort on our part to win."
Texas has won the rebound battle in 30 of 33 games this season. The Longhorns rank fifth nationally in rebound margin at +10.9. Texas is averaging 43.4 rebounds per game, which ranks among the top-15 nationally.
The Longhorns rank sixth nationally in blocked shots this season with 192. Texas' 192 blocks on the season mark the second-most in a single season in program history. The Longhorns need eight more blocks to break the school single-season blocks record of 199 set in the 2009-10 campaign.
Junior point guard Brooke McCarty this season became the program's first player to be named Big 12 Player of the Year. McCarty averages a squad-best 14.3 points per game, is shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc, has dished out a squad-best 115 assists and has a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has recorded double-figure scoring in 28 games this season, including in 16 of 18 Big 12 games. McCarty ranks sixth in program history in career three-pointers made with 181. She needs nine more three-pointers to surpass Heather Schreiber (189) for fifth place on the school's all-time career three-pointers made list.
Junior guard Ariel Atkins, a 2017 All-Big 12 First Team honoree, is the Big 12 Conference leader in steals per game at 2.0. She also is second on the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game. Freshman guard/forward Joyner Holmes, the 2017 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team selection, is averaging 12.0 points per game, a squad-best 8.2 rebounds per game and has blocked 37 shots on the year. She also has charted eight double-doubles. Among Big 12 freshmen, Holmes ranks first in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles.
Senior center Kelsey Lang, a 2017 All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention selection, has played in 137 career games at Texas, the most of any UT player since 1983. She ranks sixth in program history in career blocked shots with 186. On the season, Lang is the team's blocks leader at 2.3 rejections per game and is second on the squad in rebounding with 7.5 boards per game.
Texas and Stanford meet for the 12th time in the history of the two programs with the Cardinal leading the all-time series 7-4. Stanford defeated Texas 71-59 in the Longhorns' season opener on Nov. 14, 2016. This is the second time the two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. Texas beat Stanford 79-58 in the 1988 NCAA Sweet 16 at the Frank Erwin Center on March 24, 1988.
Stanford (30-5) is making its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Semifinals. The Cardinal won the 2017 Pacific-12 Conference Tournament Championship and have reached the 30-win plateau for the 14th time in program history.
Senior forward Erica McCall averages a squad-best 14.3 points per game, while junior guard Brittany McPhee follows with 13.1 points per game. McCall also is bringing down 8.7 rebounds per game.
QUICK NOTES
• Texas women's basketball is in the midst of its 43rd season of intercollegiate basketball.
• The Longhorns are making their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance, which is fourth-most of any program in NCAA D-I Women's Basketball history.
• Texas is one of just eight programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach 1,000 all-time wins. Texas ranks fifth all-time in NCAA history with 1,037 all-time victories.
• Texas head coach Karen Aston is 114-54 (.679) in her fifth season at the helm of the Longhorns. She is the program's second-winningest coach in UT history behind Jody Conradt's 783 victories on the Forty Acres.
• The Longhorns tied the school record for most Big 12 wins in a season at 15. The 2002-03 and 2015-16 squads also posted 15 Big 12 victories.
• Texas has won the rebound battle in 30 of its 33 games so far this season and holds a rebound margin of +10.9. The Longhorns rank fifth nationally in rebound margin.
• The Longhorns rank sixth nationally in blocked shots this season with 192 on the year.
• Texas' 192 blocks on the season mark the second-most in a single season in program history. The Longhorns need eight more blocks to break the school single-season blocks record of 199 set in the 2009-10 campaign.
• Over the past two seasons, Texas is 14-11 (.560) against foes ranked in the Associated Press Top-25, including a 7-6 (.538) mark this season.
• Senior center Kelsey Lang has played in 137 games in her UT career, which ranks fifth all-time in career games played for the Longhorns. She is the first player since 1983 to play in more than 135 career games.
• Lang recently became the 41st member of the school's all-time 1,000-point club and has 1,082 career points at UT.
• Lang currently ranks sixth in UT school history with 186 career blocks. She tied her career high with six blocks in the team's NCAA Second Round game against N.C. State.
• Junior guard Brooke McCarty has 181 career three-pointers made, which ranks seventh all-time in UT history. She needs nine more three-pointers to surpass Heather Schreiber (189) for fifth place on the school's all-time list.
• McCarty ranks tied for second in school history in three-point field goal percentage with a .404 clip (181-of-448). Current Texas assistant Jamie Carey holds the school record in three-point field goal percentage at .418.
• McCarty eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau on Feb. 6 vs. Baylor and became the 42nd player in school history to do so. She has 1,147 career points, which ranks 30th all-time.
• Junior guard Ariel Atkins is the Big 12 Conference leader (all games combined) in steals per game with 2.0. Atkins also has 956 career points and is 44 points away from 1,000 for her Texas career.
