The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
No. 6 Women's Basketball preview: Iowa State
01.26.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and Cyclones meet at 7 p.m. CT Saturday on Longhorn Network.
No. 6/6 Texas Longhorns (15-4, 6-2 Big 12) vs. Iowa State Cyclones (9-11, 3-6 Big 12)
Time: Saturday, January 27, 2018 | 7 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: Longhorn Network (Alex Loeb, Nell Fortner, Tyler Denning)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
The No. 6 Texas Women's Basketball team plays its second game in three days as the Longhorns host Iowa State on Saturday. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by Longhorn Network.
The Longhorns (15-4, 6-2 Big 12 Conference) are coming off an 81-56 loss at No. 3 Baylor on Thursday night. Texas is 3-0 this season in games following a loss.
Texas Athletics is teaming up with Whataburger for a canned food drive benefiting Central Texas. Donate canned goods prior to the game and receive a coupon for a free Whataburger while supplies last.
Texas is led by junior guard Lashann Higgs, who is averaging a squad-best 15.1 points per game, shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line. In conference games only, Higgs is averaging 19.4 points per game, shooting 63.7 percent from the field and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line. Higgs ranks 22nd nationally in field-goal percentage at 58.8 percent.
Senior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 14.8 points per game and a squad-best 53 steals. She currently ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 34th in the nation in steals per game at 2.79. Atkins ranks in the top-20 of nine different Big 12 Conference statistical categories, including the impressive features of points per game, rebounds per game, blocks per game, steals per game and assists per game.
Senior guard Brooke McCarty contributes 13.5 points per game and is the Big 12 Conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6. She is also fourth in the league in assists per game at 5.0. McCarty is playing a team-high 31.2 minutes per game.
Atkins leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 boards per game and is one of three Texas players currently averaging better than 5.0 boards per game. Junior center Jatarie White is bringing down 5.9 rebounds per game and senior forward Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau adds 5.0 boards per game.
Texas is the nation's No. 3 team in rebounding margin with a +12.6 edge on the glass. The Longhorns also rank 10th nationally in rebounds per game with 44.37. Texas has won the battle of the boards in 17 of 19 games this season and, dating back to the start of the 2015-16 campaign, UT has held the edge on the glass in 77 of 89 total games.
Texas and Iowa State meet for the 33rd time in the history of the two programs. The Cyclones lead the all-time series between the two teams 18-14, but the Longhorns hold a 9-5 edge when the game is played in Austin. Iowa State has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, including a 70-66 victory in Austin last season.
The Cyclones enter Saturday's game with a 9-11 overall record and a 3-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State is coming off a 78-69 win at No. 19 Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. The Cyclones are led by junior guard Bridget Carleton, who is the only power-five player in the nation leading her team in points (19.0 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg). Iowa State leads the Big 12 in three-pointers made per game at 8.3.
QUICK NOTES
- Texas women's basketball is in the midst of its 44th season of intercollegiate basketball.
- 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 1,052 all-time victories.
- The Longhorns have made 30 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, which is fourth-most of any NCAA D-I Women's Basketball program.
- Texas head coach Karen Aston is 129-59 (.686) now in her sixth 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 2016-17 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 advanced to three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16s for the first time since the 2002, 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
- Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Texas has earned 17 wins against foes ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. The Longhorns are 3-3 against AP Top-25 teams this season.
- Dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season, the Longhorns have won the rebound battle in 77 of 89 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 17 of 19 games this season and ranks second third in rebound margin (+12.6). The Longhorns are averaging 44.37 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th nationally.
- Texas ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense (83.2 ppg) and ninth in scoring margin (+19.1).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 209 career three-pointers made, which ranks fourth all-time in program history. She is one of only four players in school annals to make 200 or more career three-pointers. McCarty needs 12 more three-pointers to surpass Chassidy Fussell (220 career threes) for third place all-time.
- McCarty ranks fifth in program history in three-point percentage at 39.2 percent (209-of-533). Just three players in program history (Jamie Carey, Kathleen Nash and Vicki Hall) have shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc for their careers. Carey is the school's all-time three-point field goal percentage leader at 41.8 percent.
- McCarty leads the Big 12 Conference and is 25th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.65.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 83.1 percent clip (245-of-295).
- Atkins ranks 34th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.79.
- Atkins (105) and McCarty (123) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
- Junior guard Lashann Higgs ranks 22nd nationally in field-goal percentage at 58.8 percent.
