The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
No. 6 Women's Basketball preview: Oklahoma
02.25.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns host the Sooners for Senior Night on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
No. 6/8 Texas Longhorns (23-5, 14-3 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (16-12, 11-6 Big 12)
Time: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: FS1 (Ron Thulin, Brenda VanLengen)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
The No. 6 Texas women's basketball team closes the 2017-18 regular season on Tuesday evening when it plays host to Oklahoma presented by Estes Audiology. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised with FS1.
The first 1,000 fans to the table at Section 38 on the concourse will receive Texas women's basketball t-shirts courtesy of Estes Audiology. At halftime, Texas Cheer and Pom will perform their annual Extravaganza routine. This performance combines competitive cheer and dance routines, including tumbling a set to high-energy music.
It's Senior Night and the Longhorns will honor seniors Ariel Atkins, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau and Brooke McCarty. Texas will also honor graduate manager Kelby Jones, managers Adria Hardy and Chris Seo and student athletic trainer Shirley Zhang. The pre-game Senior Night presentation will begin at approximately 5:45 p.m. CT and fans are encouraged to arrive early. Doors open at 5 p.m. CT.
As four-year seniors, Atkins and McCarty have combined for a 103-30 (.774) overall record and have led the Longhorns to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, including an NCAA Elite Eight showing in 2015-16.
Atkins, a native of Duncanville, Texas, has played in 114 career games with 93 starts. She holds career averages of 12.2 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game and 1.8 steals per game. She ranks 23rd in school history in scoring with 1,387 career points and fourth in career free-throw percentage with an 83.0 percent clip.
Caron-Goudreau, a native of Gatineau, Quebec, has played in 50 games with 26 starts for the Longhorns after transferring to the Forty Acres in the summer of 2016. She holds career averages of 4.3 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 1.2 blocks per game.
McCarty, a native of League City, Texas, has played in 132 career games with 111 starts. She holds career averages of 11.6 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.9 assists per game. She ranks 17th in school history in scoring with 1,534 career points and third in career three-pointers made with 231.
Atkins leads the way for the Longhorns on the season with 14.8 points per game and 75 steals. She ranks among the top-15 in the Big 12 Conference in eight different statistical categories. Atkins is 34th nationally in steals per game at 2.68 and 43rd nationally in field-goal percentage at 53.6 percent.
McCarty follows with 14.0 points per game and team bests in both three-pointers made (50) and assists (123). McCarty is the Big 12 Conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.67, which ranks 21st nationally. McCarty is expected to play in her 133rd career game and make her 112th career start on Tuesday. Both will move her onto the respective top-10 lists in program history.
Sophomore guard/forward Joyner Holmes leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game. In her last nine games combined, Holmes is averaging 9.6 points per game and a squad-best 7.1 rebounds per game.
Texas and Oklahoma meet for the 56th time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series between the two teams 30-25. Texas leads the series 16-9 when the game is played in Austin. The Longhorns have won six of the last nine meetings with OU.
The Sooners enter Tuesday's game with a 16-12 overall record and an 11-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play. Oklahoma has won four consecutive games, including a 79-61 win against Texas Tech on Saturday. Senior center Vionise Pierre-Louis leads her team in both scoring and rebounding with 15.9 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. She leads five Sooners who are averaging double-figure scoring totals.
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 1,060 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 137-60 (.695) 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 84 of 98 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 24 of 28 games this season and ranks fifth nationally in rebound margin (+10.7). The Longhorns are averaging 42.96 rebounds per game, which ranks 17th nationally. Six players are averaging 4.0 rebounds or better on the season.
- Texas ranks 16th nationally in scoring offense (81.6 ppg) and 11th in scoring margin (+18.3).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 231 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 seven 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 39.7 percent (231-of-582). 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 21st nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.67.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 83.0 percent clip (264-of-318).
- Atkins ranks 34th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.68.
- Atkins ranks 43rd nationally in field-goal percentage at 53.6 percent.
- Atkins (114) and McCarty (132) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
