OU and Texas tangle in Austin this coming Tuesday at 6 PM, an early start. TV for those that will be unable to attend is Fox Sports 1 (FS1). That’s Spectrum 400 in Austin. Horns have used the same starters for all six conference games: Brianna, Kelsey, Brooke, Ariel and Joyner. Brooke, Ariel & Joyner are all averaging double figures in scoring while Kelsey has a double digit rebounding average along with a team leading 14 blocks. OU had the same starting five for the first five games before Sr. Gioya Carter replaced Fr. Chelsea Dungee in game six vs Tech. The other starters are Nancy Mulkey, Maddie Manning, Gabbi Ortiz and Peyton Little. Maddie, Gabbi and Peyton are all scoring at a double digit pace. Mulkey, Carter and Dungee average in single digits. Vionise Pierre-Louis is their top reserve, averaging close to a double double with 11.8 ppg and 9.2 rpg. When Nancy who is providing a team leading 19 blocks is replaced on the floor by Pierre-Louis, there is little drop off in defending the goal as Pierre-Louis is second with 14 blocks. OU will be fighting to stay one game behind the Big 12 leaders. Lose this game in Austin and OU falls two games off the pace. Win and they at the least stay one game behind BU who has games vs Kansas (this Sunday) and ISU on Wed. Horns are looking to do two things: stay undefeated in league play and extend their school record undefeated win streak to open Big 12 league play to seven games. Should be a good and close game. OU (77.0 ppg) and Texas (71.7 ppg) are two-three in scoring. Texas is second in scoring defense (53.5 ppg) and OU is third (65.2 ppg). Neither team is that good shooting FTs. Texas makes 65.0% of FTs while OU is at 63.5%. These are two pretty good shooting teams that could have trouble finding uncontested looks. OU is second in the league at 44.1% in FG%. Texas is third at 43.9%. Texas is second in FG defense, allowing opponents to hit only 32.0% of their shots. OU allows only 36.6% of shots to be completed, good enough for third in the league. OU is one of the best league teams in making the trey (36.4%) but they are going to run into the league’s best at stopping the 3 as Texas only allows 24.3% of treys to be made. With both teams among the top three in rebounding, several of the league’s top rebounders will on the floor contesting for missed shots. Kelsey ranks #1 with an average of 10.7 rpg. Pierre-Louis is fourth at 9.2 rpg. Joyner comes in at 8th with 7.5 rpg. Ortiz (5.3 rpg) and Manning (5.2 rpg) are among the league’s top 20 rebounders. Ariel adds 5.0 rpg. Could be a nice night for a game as temps are projected in the high 50s with a 20 percent chance of rain that day.
6PM start. Here's hoping for a Texas run in the 2nd quarter so those fans missing the first quarter due to traffic get a treat when we finally get to our seats! Go Horns!
We need to be ready for OU. Our rebounding has got to get back on par, we need to take care of the ball, and be patient in the half court offense
From what I've seen, it will behoove to get Mulkey in foul trouble early which goes a long way in neutralizing their defense.
The problem with that is that Pierre-Louis is a more than capable backup. Almost as good a shot blocker and a much more effective offensive player. Mulkey, right now, is easier to displace from her most effective offensive spots. It's harder to do with Pierre-Louis. Like us, getting one post in foul trouble does not put that big a crimp in their offense or defense. I think we got the edge if both teams have to go deep into their post reserves. But there have been games where Mulkey got in foul trouble and Pierre-Louis came in and gave them a boost. After practicing with and against Imani for the three seasons prior to this one, our main players should be able to adjust to Mulkey's length and reach. And our frosh got did practice against Imani for a week or two this past fall so they at least have a taste of playing against someone of similar height.
Here is a post from Sybarite on the OU board giving thoughts on the matchup Tuesday. I don't exactly agree with a lot of it but it is interesting to read what other posters on opponent boards think. http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39855
about 21 hours to go before tipoff. Right now, seems like time is going very slow. We are getting into the tough part of the schedule now.
Our key to beating OU the last few times has been neutralizing Peyton Little. Not sure if it was Empress or Ariel defending her last year, but tight defense was great. Peyton cannot create her own shot, but if you leave her wide open, she will let it fly.
I think we are ready. We have 5 players who have proven they can consistently get into double digits and each has proven they can have breakout games when the stars align. That becomes 6 players if Sutton continues to improve. This team has shown us more than once that they are willing to fight to the final seconds to get a win. And Karen has gotten better at substitutions. Her bench has proven itself. I still wish she would get more strategic with her timeouts. Keys to win: - under 15 turnovers - Atkins cannot get into foul trouble nor can Lang - Higgs is the X factor Go Horns. Protect your house!
23-19 Texas after one quarter. OU has made three 3-point baskets, but we have two by Brooke. Texas doing very well on the offensive glass.
PG Ortiz picked up two fouls early in first quarter. Peyton Little picked up 2 fouls early in the second quarter.
Kelsey picks up her second foul midway through second quarter on a ticky-tacky screen near our own basket. 29-21 Texas.
Gioya Carter picks up a flagrant 1 foul for elbowing Ariel in the jaw. Ariel misses first free throw; makes second. 30-21. Texas gets the ball.
Higgs having a nice game. Had two perimeter jumpers in the first quarter. And now a 3-pointer in the second quarter. 37-29 Texas.
40-29 Texas at half. Texas executes a fast break with lots of players touching the ball and ends with a Higgs layup as the clock expires.
Great finish by Higgs and the touch pass assist from Brooke at the halftime buzzer was a thing of beauty
Taylor was bringing it today despite not scoring. 10 rebounds and 4 assists before leaving the game early in the third quarter with a leg injury. Those are great numbers; more assists than those who play point guard.
56-51 Texas after three quarters. We need to see more Kelsey in the fourth so Joyner can free a bit down low; I guess when Lang when out after her 3rd foul midway through the third quarter, OU put Pierre-Louis to defend Joyner and Maddie Manning to guard Audrey-Anne.
After OU cut the lead to 68-66, Texas finishes on an 18-2 run to win 86-68. A lot of those points were free throws in the last 2 minutes. But before that some good defense and great offense by Atkins to get some separation. Glad that Brianna was able to return to the game.
Wow...that was fun. So much to brag about. Atkins is such a great player. I haven't seen Holmes have a game like that. Higgs was the spark we needed. I worried a little about how much Coach was playing Sutton at the point. She has much potential, but wasn't hitting and isn't yet the point guard Brooke is. But great to beat OU, and by that margin.
OU is better than I thought they were. They run a lot of offensive plays that are tough to guard. Their starting point guard did not play very well tonight; and, neither did Gioya Carter. But freshman Dungee went 10-10 from the free throw line and really helped OU close the gap in the fourth quarter. Atkins finally showed some offensive aggressiveness tonight. We need her to score more than 12 points a game. She has the best mid-range game and that is going to be open against zone defenses. Higgs did a lot of good things tonight. Seemed like she had a turnover or two in the third quarter and Coach A sat her on the bench for more minutes than I would have preferred. But, she really proved herself in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points. Joyner and McCarty were great as well. No Hosey or Underwood today. Only bench players who saw action were Higgs, Sutton, and the Goudreau twins. Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/texas/wbball/
Game was much closer than the 18 point margin of victory. We were unable to match OU's energy early in the third quarter. They quickly trimmed our 11 point half time lead to like 5-6 points for the majority of the rest of game. Free throws definitely kept them within arms length.
Higgs continues to be our X factor. Sutton needs to work through her slump in practice not in a close game. I said going in that we have 6 players who can go off at any point. Tonight 5 of them did!
