The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
No. 7 Women's Basketball preview: Big 12 Quarterfinals
03.02.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns are the No. 2 seed and play at 6 p.m. CT Saturday on FSN.
No. 7/7 Texas Longhorns (24-5, 15-3 Big 12) at Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals
Time: Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Oklahoma City, Okla. | Chesapeake Energy Arena (18,203)
TV: FSN (Ron Thulin, Brenda VanLengen, Missy Heidrick)
Radio: 105.3 FM (David Garrett, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio
Where to Watch in Your Area (PDF)
Pre-Tournament Media Availability Video: Aston | Holmes
The No. 7 University of Texas women's basketball team opens play in the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday when it faces the winner between seventh-seeded Iowa State and 10th-seeded Kansas in the quarterfinal round. Tip-off in Chesapeake Energy Arena is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net. The Longhorns are the No. 2 seed in this year's Big 12 Championship.
Texas (24-5, 15-3 Big 12 Conference) holds an all-time record of 24-20 in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Longhorns have earned four consecutive Big 12 quarterfinal victories and have played in the championship final in two of the last three years.
"I thought we played really good [against Oklahoma]," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "I'm hoping that we'll carry that over into the tournament. I definitely think from last year's experiences, we saw a team get hot and I don't think we'll take anything for granted this year. We'll try to live by what we've been doing, which is one game at a time."
The Longhorns are led by a pair of first-team All-Big 12 Conference performers in senior guards Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty. Atkins averages a squad-best 14.8 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting from the field with 5.6 rebounds per game and a team-high 2.7 steals per game. She ranks 32nd nationally in steals per game and 41st nationally in field-goal percentage. Atkins ranks in the top-15 of eight different Big 12 Conference statistical categories.
McCarty, the Big 12 Conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7, averages 14.1 points per game and a squad-best 4.5 assists per game. She has made a team-high 53 three-pointers and leads her squad with a 91.4 percent clip from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Lashann Higgs, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, averages 13.0 points per game, while junior center Jatarie White adds 10.1 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard/forward Joyner Holmes is bringing down a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
Texas and Iowa State would meet for the 35th time in the history of the two programs. The Cyclones lead the all-time series between the two teams 18-16, but the Longhorns have won five of the last six meetings.
Texas and Texas Tech would meet for the 101st time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns hold a 71-29 advantage in the all-time series. Texas has won the past 10 meetings between the two teams in the series. TTU is UT's most frequent opponent historically.
Complete information on Texas in the Big 12 Championship will be available at TexasSports.com.
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 1,061 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 138-60 (.696) 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.
- 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 85 of 99 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 25 of 29 games this season and ranks fourth nationally in rebound margin (+10.7). The Longhorns are averaging 42.90 rebounds per game, which ranks 15th nationally.
- Texas ranks 15th nationally in scoring offense (81.6 ppg) and 11th in scoring margin (+18.1).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 234 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 four 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 39.8 percent (234-of-588). 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 2.70.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 82.8 percent clip (265-of-320).
- Atkins ranks 32nd nationally and second in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.72.
- Atkins ranks 41st nationally in field-goal percentage at 53.8 percent.
- Atkins (115) and McCarty (133) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
