The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 3/3 Baylor
No. 6 Women's Basketball preview: No. 3 Baylor
02.18.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and Lady Bears meet at 7 p.m. CT Monday on ESPN2.
No. 6/6 Texas Longhorns (22-4, 13-2 Big 12) vs. No. 3/3 Baylor Lady Bears (25-1, 15-0 Big 12)
Time: Monday, February 19, 2018 | 7 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
Pre-Game Media Availability Videos: Aston | Atkins | McCarty
It's the second meeting this season between the two top-10 teams separated by just 100 miles in central Texas. No. 6 Texas plays host to No. 3 Baylor on Monday in the Frank Erwin Center, presented by St. David's Healthcare. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
Longhorn Network will air a 30-minute Texas GameDay pregame show beginning at 6:30 on LHN.
Monday's game is the annual Shoot for a Cure game and fans are all encouraged to wear pink for cancer awareness. Pink glow sticks will be provided to the first 4,000 fans at the entrance and approximately 2,500 lower bowl sets will have pink Texas Longhorns t-shirts on them courtesy of St. David's Healthcare.
All cancer survivors in attendance will be encouraged to come down for the Survivor Rally Line. Survivors are asked to meet at 6:30 p.m. outside Section 32.
The first 400 University of Texas students who show a valid UT student ID will receive a black Texas Women's Basketball t-shirt and a $10 voucher good for in-arena concessions. Students should enter at the E doors of the Erwin Center.
The Longhorns (22-4, 13-2 Big 12 Conference) are on a seven-game winning streak since their 81-56 loss at Baylor on January 25. In that span, the Longhorns are defeating opponents by 20.4 points per game, averaging 78.1 points per game, out-rebounding opponents by a 9.4 advantage and winning the turnover battle by 4.9. All of the wins during that stretch have been by double-digit margins, with four wins by 20 or more points.
Texas is coming off a 77-62 win at No. 21 Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater.
Texas is the nation's No. 2 team in rebounding margin with a +11.8 edge on the glass. The Longhorns also rank 14th nationally in rebounds per game with 43.54. Texas has won the battle of the boards in 23 of 26 games this season and, dating back to the start of the 2015-16 campaign, UT has held the edge on the glass in 83 of 96 total games.
The Longhorns are characterized by a balanced effort this season. Four starters are averaging double-digit point totals and six players are averaging 4.0 rebounds or better on the season. Six different players have led the team in scoring during the year and eight have led the team in rebounding. Only one player (Brooke McCarty) is averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
The game is a match-up between the nation's top-two teams in terms of rebounding margin. Baylor leads the nation in rebounding margin at +18.7, while Texas is second at +11.8.
The Longhorns are led by senior guard Ariel Atkins who is averaging a squad-best 14.5 points per game. Atkins ranks among the top-20 in nine different statistical categories, including ranking second in the league in free-throw percentage (.870) and steals per game (2.7). Atkins ranks 30th nationally in steals per game at 2.73.
Senior guard Brooke McCarty follows with 13.4 points per game and is the Big 12 Conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.59. McCarty ranks 19th in UT history in career scoring with 1,489 career points and looks to become just the 19th player in school history to reach 1,500 career points. She also ranks third in career three-pointers made with 221.
Junior forward/center Jatarie White leads the team and ranks 16th in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding at 5.8 and also adds 10.7 points per game.
Texas and Baylor meet for the 96th time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 58-37, including a 26-14 advantage when the game is played in Austin. Baylor defeated Texas 81-56 earlier this season in Waco. The last Texas win against Baylor in the Frank Erwin Center came on January 31, 2010 - a 61-50 victory by the Longhorns.
The Lady Bears are 25-1 overall and 15-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor is on a 22-game winning streak since an 82-68 loss to UCLA on Nov. 18. Junior center Kalani Brown ranks second in the nation in field-goal percentage at 66.9 percent and is 26th nationally in points per game at 20.3. She also is 26th in the nation in rebounds per game at 10.0. Sophomore forward Lauren Cox follows with 14.8 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kristy Wallace averages 12.5 points per game with a squad-best 141 assists.
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 1,059 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 136-59 (.697) 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 19 wins against foes ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. The Longhorns are 5-3 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 83 of 96 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 23 of 26 games this season and ranks second nationally in rebound margin (+11.8). The Longhorns are averaging 43.54 rebounds per game, which ranks 14th nationally. Six players are averaging 4.0 rebounds or better on the season.
- Texas ranks 18th nationally in scoring offense (81.8 ppg) and eighth in scoring margin (+19.5).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 221 career three-pointers made, which ranks third 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 17 more three-pointers to surpass Kathleen Nash (237 career threes) for third place all-time.
- McCarty ranks fifth in program history in three-point percentage at 39.0 percent (221-of-567). 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 27th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.59.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 83.2 percent clip (257-of-309).
- Atkins ranks 30th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.73.
- Atkins (112) and McCarty (130) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
- Junior guard Lashann Higgs ranks 39th nationally in field-goal percentage at 54.6 percent.
