The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Drake
No. 22 Women's Basketball preview: Drake
12.17.2020 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and the Bulldogs will match-up for the first time since March 15, 1984
Women's Basketball Preview
#22 Texas [4-1] vs. Drake [2-3]
December 18, 2020
Where: Austin, Texas
Arena: Frank Erwin Center [16,540/1,300 for 2020-21]
Time: 7 p.m. CT
TV: LHN [Alex Loeb, Andrea Lloyd]
Video Stream: LINK
Radio: TexasSports.com [Brant Freeman, Kathy Harston] - LINK
Live Stats: LINK
All-Time Series: Texas leads 2-1
NOTES
• Ebo's Eligible: Texas got some terrific news on Wednesday as the NCAA Division I Council passed the blanket waiver granting junior transfer Lauren Ebo immediate playing eligibility. The 6-4 forward/center will be available to see action for the Longhorns against Drake.
• Against Drake: UT leads the all-time series against Drake, 2-1, including 2-0 in Austin. The two programs will be meeting for the first time since a 96-60 Texas victory back on March 15, 1984.
• Just "Charge" It: The Longhorns defense is making taking charges an art form this season as Texas has drawn 19 total charges through its first five games. Junior guard/forward Audrey Warren hasn't hesitated to step in front of any opponent, drawing a squad-best 10 of those charges.
• Big 12's Top Offense: Texas' defense has been wreaking havoc turnover-wise all season long, but its offense has also been humming along, currently leading the Big 12 Conference in both scoring offense (82.8 ppg) and scoring margin (+24.6). Four Longhorns players are averaging in double-figures through the opening five games of 2020-21: Charli Collier (25.0 ppg), Celeste Taylor (13.4 ppg), Audrey Warren (12.4) and Joanne Allen-Taylor (11.2 ppg).
• Climbing the Poll: After a week that included a win over Idaho and a postponement, the pollsters continued to boost the Longhorns up the rankings. Texas moved up one slot to No. 22 in the Associated Press rankings and entered the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time this season at No. 22. Both ratings are the highest for UT since coming in at No. 22 (AP) and No. 15 (Coaches) in the Nov. 11, 2019, release.
• Collier's in Charge: Preseason National Player of the Year candidate Charli Collier keeps putting up the stats, averaging 25.0 points-per-game to rank No. 10 in NCAA Division I and second in the Big 12 Conference. She has four 20+ point efforts in 2020-21 and also rates fifth in the NCAA in free throws made (38) & double-doubles (four), 10th in total points (125), 19th in total rebounds (59), 23rd in FG's made (42) and 11th in rebounding average (11.8). Against North Texas, Collier scored a career-high 44 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, marking the first time a Big 12 player had scored 44 points and grabbed at least 15 boards in a game since at least 1999-2000. For her opening week efforts, she earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors (Nov. 30) for the second time in her career.
