December 22, 2019 Where: Austin, Texas Arena: Frank Erwin Center [16,540] Time: 12:00 p.m. CT TV: ESPN2 [Eric Frede, Andy Landers] WatchESPN Radio: 105.3 FM [Craig Way, Kathy Harston] Live Stats Tickets All-Time Series: Stanford leads 8-4 COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF) NOTES The rivalry between Texas and Stanford is renewed on Sunday when the Longhorns play host to the No. 1 Cardinal at the Frank Erwin Center. Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2. Texas vs. No. 1: Texas is 5-26 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll at the time of the game. The Longhorns' last win against an AP No. 1 team came on Nov. 25, 2004 when No. 4 Texas defeated No. 1 Tennessee, 74-59, in Austin. The Longhorns defeated Stanford 87-81 on Nov. 20, 2014 when the Cardinal was ranked No. 1 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. The Series: Texas and Stanford will meet for the 13th time in the history of the two programs with the Cardinal leading the all-time series 8-4. This will mark the eighth meeting between the two teams since the 2010-11 season. No. 6 Stanford defeated No. 14 Texas 77-66 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on March 24, 2017 the last time the two teams faced one another. Winner's Circle: Texas and Stanford are two of the winningest programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball history, having combined for 2,195 all-time victories. The Cardinal are fifth in NCAA history with 1,101 wins, while the Longhorns are sixth with 1,094 victories. On The Boards: Success on the boards has been a staple of Texas teams for many years. In fact the Longhorns have tied or won the rebounding battle in 125 of their last 149 games overall, including seven of 10 games this season. The Longhorns hold a +10.0 rebounding margin, which ranks 29th nationally. Texas has reached 50 or more rebounds in three games this year. Double Trouble: Texas leads the nation with 16 double-doubles so far this season. Senior forward Joyner Holmes is tied for second nationally with eight double-doubles, while sophomore center Charli Collier has seven double-dips. Senior guard Lashann Higgs has one double-double. Next Up: Texas breaks for the winter holidays before returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 29, when it closes out non-conference play by facing Northwestern State with tip-off at 1 p.m. CT on LHN.
I'll be the first to say I was completely wrong. In the beginning of the season I may have been skeptical but after seeing everyone settle in and have the right rotation I think this team has something special. We are coming for baylor next!
During Joyner's interview, she said she thought the team needed those early losses to get where they are today. I hope she's right!
As much as I have criticized KAs coaching -- and I stand behind that -- we looked like a very well-coached team today, just as we did at Tennessee. We had some bonehead moments (that's just the nature of some of our players), but overall the excellent game plan was well-executed. I got a little worried when we had chances to distance ourselves a little further in the second quarter and didn't do so, and then they caught us in the third. Gutsy, gutsy performance down the stretch! Charlie was on fire in all aspects today, Joyner played well and so did Sug. Celeste and Lashaan had some great plays and Jada SAVED OUR ASSES with those offensive boards that allowed us to reset. I'm very proud of the heart this team showed today.
Win or lose, it's great to see the players and coaches fighting and giving their all. Getting this kind of a win is a reward for their hard work, and showing THEY have no plans to give up or throw in the towel this season despite some earlier losses.
I wonder how many people believed me when I said, earlier in the week, that we could compete with and perhaps defeat Stanford? We have a very talented first seven or so (players).
When Joyner fell in that last possession by Stanford, I thought, "Oh Geez, she's gonna shoot a 3" and then to see her get up and steal the ball in the same play, wow. I will something about Stanford that may not be apparent for those watching the game on TV. Typically, the other team is still in shootaround when the announcer says it's time for the Eyes of Texas and the band fires up the song. When this happened, Stanford stopped their practice and all went to their sideline and stood shoulder to shoulder while the Eyes were sung by the fans. And once the song was done, they went and got balls back from the ball girls and went back to warming up. Class.
What. Just. Happened? Did we finally just become the team we were always supposed to be? Outstanding.
One last thing, before I go searching on my DVR listing to find a replay to tape and watch again. During the game, I saw the name "Pretchel" and I kept thinking...geez, that sounds so familiar. Then, it dawned on me she was in the tug-of-war between Texas-Stanford-UCLA. We thought we may have a had a leg up because Jamie had previous contacts with her in her home state of Colorado. After the game, as we were leaving the game, a fan was talking to a young TALL woman and her mom asking her when she would be back to Texas and she said she'd be back in June for the summer camps. I wish I had the knack of taking subtle pictures in the background to post her picture here so you all could identify her. Sorta....like a younger Charli Collier look (face) and build.
That was amazing effort; at the same time it helped to have one crappy inbounding job from the opposition.
I never doubted for a second Texas could beat the undefeated, number one ranked Cardinal. Okay - I doubted it until time expired. Congrats to the team and Coach Aston. Well done and seeing the post-game celebration was a beautiful and wonderful thing.
Eating crow and loving it! Go and do the daggum thang Longhorns! Coach A you have proved me wrong. You have these young ladies playing ball. Way to take down Stanford. Way to scout Stanford and get the job done! I wonder if we'll be ranked Monday.
I have to bend a knee to this team! After the Hawaii loss I projected the team to be .500 going into Big 12 play and it appears they will be 8-4. They have truly turned things around. I have to give credit to Aston and her staff. I believe the addition of Nooner to the staff has made a big impact on the post play. Joyner put it in perspective when she said maybe it took those early season losses to get them where they are today. Hope the team can use this win to spring board into Big 12 play where there are a lot better teams in the league than they get credit for.
I went into the game, because I have season tickets, with dread. Have the tickets, gotta use them. I joked with my seatmate of years that I was going to lower the bar of expectations so that I didn't freak out when we were 20+ in errors. What they played today was "old" Karen Aston basketball. I think that what she's done is adjusted her defense and gotten players to play the way she demands. Several times in interviews and in person she's said that this is a "fun" team to coach and that they play for each other. I think if you take those words and spin the opposite meaning, it meant that previous squads didn't have the right personality to patiently pull off what they did today and on the road at Tennessee (which from my perspective was more impressive). We're going to lose a couple of more games because we're going to have 20+ turnovers. But the Tennessee and Stanford game has maybe opened up the eyes of her players that if you play to what coach has been drilling into your head, you can beat teams you're supposed to lose today. I'm tamping it down just a bit because I know that some teams.....which I won't point out because I don't want to start a flame war on this thread have our number mentally, if not physically. It was good seeing people stay the entire game and not leaving for the exits as typical when we're leading or losing. They stayed to celebrate the team.
