The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
No. 6 Women's Basketball preview: Iowa State
02.23.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and the Cyclones meet at 5 p.m. CT Sunday in Ames on FSN.
No. 6/8 Texas Longhorns (22-5, 13-3 Big 12) at Iowa State Cyclones (12-15, 6-10 Big 12)
Time: Saturday, February 24, 2018 | 5 p.m. CT
Location: Ames, Iowa | Hilton Coliseum (14,384)
TV: Fox Sports Net (Ron Thulin, Brenda VanLengen) WHERE TO WATCH
Radio: 105.3 FM (Roger Wallace, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio
The No. 6 Texas women's basketball team looks to sweep the season series with Iowa State on Saturday when the Longhorns travel to Ames, Iowa, to face the Cyclones. Tip-off in Hilton Coliseum is slated for 5 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Net.
The Longhorns (22-5, 13-3 Big 12 Conference) have assured themselves of a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference for the third consecutive year. Texas is coming off a 93-87 loss on Monday to No. 3 Baylor in Austin.
Texas is led by senior guards Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty, who have directed the Longhorns to a 102-30 (.773) record over the past four seasons. They are set to play in their 114th and 132nd career games, respectively.
Atkins leads the Longhorns with 14.6 points per game and a squad-best 74 steals. She ranks among the Big 12 Conference's top-15 in eight different statistical categories including points per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, assists per game, field-goal percentage, three-point field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage. Atkins ranks 30th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.74. She also is 39th nationally in field-goal percentage at 54.4 percent.
McCarty averages 14.1 points per game and a squad-best 119 assists. She is the Big 12 Conference leader and ranks 23rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.64. McCarty ranks third in school history with 228 career three-pointers. She needs to make 10 more threes to surpass Kathleen Nash (237 career three-pointers) for second-place on the school's all-time list for career three-pointers made.
Fellow starters Lashann Higgs and Jatarie White follow with 12.9 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Sophomore guard/forward Joyner Holmes is the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game, while also contributing 6.6 points per game.
Texas is the nation's No. 5 team in rebounding margin with a +10.8 edge on the glass. The Longhorns also rank 22nd nationally in rebounds per game with 42.93. Texas has won the battle of the boards in 23 of 27 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 97 total games.
Texas and Iowa State meet for the 34th time in the history of the two programs. The Cyclones lead the all-time series between the two teams 18-15, but the Longhorns have won four of the last five meetings. Texas defeated Iowa State 87-55 in Austin on Jan. 27, 2018. That win marked the largest margin of victory by the Longhorns in the history of the series.
The Cyclones enter Saturday's game with a 12-15 overall record and a 6-10 mark in Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State is coming off an 80-71 loss at Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Junior forward Bridget Carleton leads the way for the Cyclones, averaging 18.7 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game. She, along with Texas' Atkins, are among the 10 players nationally named top-10 finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award, recognizing the nation's top "three" player.
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 136-60 (.694) 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 5-4 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 97 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 23 of 27 games this season and ranks fifth nationally in rebound margin (+10.8). The Longhorns are averaging 42.93 rebounds per game, which ranks 22nd nationally. Six players are averaging 4.0 rebounds or better on the season.
- Texas ranks 15th nationally in scoring offense (82.0 ppg) and 10th in scoring margin (+18.5).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 228 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 10 more three-pointers to surpass Kathleen Nash (237 career threes) for second place all-time.
- McCarty ranks fourth in program history in three-point percentage at 39.6 percent (228-of-576). 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 23rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.64.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 82.8 percent clip (260-of-314).
- Atkins ranks 30th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.74.
- Atkins ranks 39th nationally in field-goal percentage at 54.4 percent.
- Atkins (113) and McCarty (131) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
