The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
West Virginia
No. 14/14 Women’s Basketball Preview: at West Virginia
02.19.2022 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns travel to Morgantown for a matinee matchup with the Mountaineers (11:00 a.m. CT, ESPN 2)
Game 25: #14/14 Texas (18-6, 8-5 Big 12) vs West Virginia (11-12, 4-9 Big 12)
Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 – 11:00 a.m. Central
WVU Coliseum (14,000) – Morgantown, W. Va.
GameDay Quick Facts:
• TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally on ESPN 2. John Brickley (pxp) and Kelly Gramlich (analyst) will call the action.
• RADIO: 105.3 The Bat broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
• SERIES: Texas leads, 14-10. Last meeting: Texas 73-57 (Jan. 15 , 2022; Austin).
Notables:
LEADING IN: The No. 14/14 Texas Women's Basketball team will hit the road this weekend as it travels to Morgantown to square off with West Virginia on Sunday (11:00 a.m. CT, ESPN 2). The Longhorns are riding a three-game win streak entering Sunday's tilt including dominant 73-48 victory over No. 6/5 Iowa State at home on Wednesday. The Mountaineers are coming off 74-63 loss at Kansas in their last matchup.
THE SERIES: Texas and West Virginia will meet for the 25th time overall on Sunday. The Longhorns own a 14-10 advantage over the Mountaineers in the all-time series and are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings. Texas took down WVU 73-56 at home in their first meeting of the season (Jan. 15).
OFFENSE CLICKING: Scoring points and finding consistent shooting has been an issue for the Longhorns throughout much of Big 12 Conference schedule, but have started to find a rhythm on offense over their last two contests.
With just one 70-plus point outing through their first 11 league matchups, the Longhorns have recorded 78 and 73 points, respectively, in their last to victories over Oklahoma and Iowa State and have shot a collective 48.8 percent from the field. Texas is 12-1 when scoring 70 or more points in a game this season.
WONDERFUL WARREN: Senior guard Audrey Warren has been in a grove as of last and has settled into her role as the primary option off of the bench for the Longhorns. Over the last three games, the Fort Worth native has averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor. She's also continued to make her presence felt on the defensive end leading the time with nine steal while averaging five rebounds over the three-game stretch.
THE SCHAEFER FORMULA: Longhorn head coach Vic Schaefer makes no secret in the way his teams have found success over the years. Relentless full court defensive pressure, attention to detail, and limiting turnovers and mistakes have been built in to the identity of his programs. The 2021-22 Longhorns are no different ranking among the best in the country in several defensive categories. UT currently ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 32 in the NCAA holding opponents to just 56.5 points per game. They also lead the league and rank No. 11 nationally in turnovers forced at 22.2 per contest and rank No. 6 in turnover margin at 7.04.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: West Virginia has had an up and down 2021-22 campaign thus far and have found themselves in a late season slump as they have dropped their last four contests. At 4-9 overall in Big 12 action, the Mountaineers currently sit in seventh place in the league standings heading into Sunday's matchup.
WVU is averaging 67.2 points per game offensively this season while holding opponents to 66.1 per contest. West Virginia is led offensively by junior guard KK Deans who ranks No. 9 in the conference at 14.5 points per game. Esmery Martinez is the teams' second-leading scorer averaging 10.5 points per contest. She also leads the team on the glass and ranks No.6 in the Big 12 averaging 8.1 rebounds per game.
NEXT: Following Sunday's matchup, Texas will remain on the road on as they head to Kansas State next Wednesday, Feb. 23, to take on Wildcats (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN +) before returning home on Saturday, Feb. 26, to host TCU (7 p.m. CT, LHN).
