The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arizona State
No. 8 Women's Basketball preview: Arizona State
03.18.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and the Sun Devils meet Monday at 8 p.m. CT in NCAA Second Round.
No. 8/8 Texas Longhorns (27-6) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (22-12)
NCAA Second Round
Time: Monday, March 19, 2018 | 8 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: ESPN2 (Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Tournament Central | Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
The No. 8 and second-seeded Texas women's basketball team on Monday looks to advance to its fourth consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 since eight consecutive such appearances from 1983-90 when it plays host to seventh-seeded Arizona State. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is slated for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
The Longhorns (27-6) have advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the fifth consecutive year. Texas' 27 victories on the year are the second-most under head coach Karen Aston. The Longhorns won 31 games in 2015-16, a season in which they advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Texas is making its 31st all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which ranks fourth most of any program in NCAA history. The Longhorns are one of just five programs to make 30 or more NCAA Tournament appearances all-time. Texas is 41-29 (.586) all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including 9-4 under head coach Karen Aston.
The Longhorns are coming off an 83-54 win against Maine on Saturday in the NCAA First Round. Texas shot 61.8 percent (34-of-55) from the field, marking the 11th-best single-game field-goal percentage in school history. Junior center Jatarie White scored a game-high 17 points, while senior guard Ariel Atkins followed with 16 and junior guard Lashann Higgs added 15. Texas out-rebounded Maine 43-12.
On the season, Atkins leads the Longhorns with 14.9 points per game and 87 steals, while senior point guard Brooke McCarty contributes 13.7 points per game and a squad-best 140 assists on the year. Sophomore guard/forward Joyner Holmes is the team's leading rebounder at 6.0 boards per game.
Texas and Arizona State meet for the fifth time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 4-0, including a 2-0 mark when the game is played in Austin. Texas and Arizona State last met December 18, 2008 in Austin, an 81-71 UT win.
The seventh-seeded Sun Devils (22-12) are coming off a 73-62 win against 10th-seeded Nebraska on Saturday. Four Arizona State players scored in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Robbi Ryan's game-high 16. Junior forward Kianna Ibis added 14 pints and junior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman brought down a game-high 10 rebounds.
On the season, Ibis leads the Sun Devils with 12.5 points per game and adds 5.0 rebounds per game. Ryan follows with 10.2 points per game, while Johnson-Chapman is bringing down a squad-best 6.6 boards per game.
QUICK NOTES
- Texas women's basketball is in the midst of its 44th season of intercollegiate basketball.
- Texas ranks fifth all-time in NCAA history with 1,064 all-time victories.
- The Longhorns have made 31 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, which is fourth-most of any NCAA D-I Women's Basketball program.
- Texas head coach Karen Aston is 141-61 (.698) 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.
- This year's Texas team tied the school record for most Big 12 wins in a season at 15. The 2002-03, 2015-16 and 2016-17 squads also posted 15 Big 12 victories.
- Entering this year's NCAA Tournament, 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 5-5 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 88 of 103 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 28 of 33 games this season and ranks fourth nationally in rebound margin (+11.1). The Longhorns are averaging 43.0 rebounds per game, which ranks 13th nationally.
- Texas' rebounding margin of +11.1 tied for second in program history. The school record for rebound margin in a single season is +12.3.
- Texas ranks 16th nationally in scoring offense (80.8 ppg) and 12th in scoring margin (+17.3).
- Three Texas players have played in 100 or more career games - Brooke McCarty (137), Ariel Atkins (119) and Lashann Higgs (101).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 240 career three-pointers made, which ranks second all-time in program history. She is one of only four players in school annals to make 200 or more career threes.
- McCarty ranks fourth in program history in three-point percentage at 39.7 percent (240-of-604). 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 is the program's all-time career leader in total minutes played with 4,092. She is the first player in program history to eclipse the 4,000 minutes played mark.
- McCarty leads the Big 12 Conference and is 19th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with an 82.9 percent clip (272-of-328).
- Atkins ranks 34th nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.6.
- Atkins ranks 44th nationally in field-goal percentage at 53.9 percent.
