 "Photo: Peter Franklin, Daily Texan Staff")
The No. 14 Longhorns preserved their unblemished record Thursday, dominating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi across the board in a 87-36 win at the Frank Erwin Center.
The victory was characterized by a strong inside presence by the Longhorns (4-0) as they posted their most blocks on the season with 11. Texas posted more blocks, steals and rebounds than the Islanders. Through the first half, the Islanders did not make a single layup and in the second did not attempt any. The Longhorns never trailed in the game.
Junior guard Brittainey Raven led the way with 19 points — 15 coming in the second half. Sophomore guard Kathleen Nash posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“I just want to play good team defense,” Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. “I think it does give the guards a lot of confidence, because they know if they do get beat that they’ve got somebody behind them that can really help them out.”
Corpus Christi, missing three starters due to injuries, was led in scoring by junior guard Jade Davis who had 10 points. She also added four rebounds to her team’s total of 37 — 13 less than Texas’ 50.
Texas set the pace early, widening their lead to 27 off of a Carla Cortijo layup 13 minutes into the first. The Longhorns didn’t hesitate, piling on another 12 points in the first half before starting off the second with 11 straight.
When an Islander stepped into the lane to drive, they were more often than not met by a Texas defender as forwards Ashley Lindsay and Ashley Gayle combined for nine blocks and three defensive rebounds. Texas was active everywhere on the floor, finishing with 16 steals and outscoring the Islanders 21-0 on fast breaks.
“As a captain, you have to keep the team together and motivated,” said senior forward Earnesia Williams. “I think after halftime, we really picked it up a bit. I think we’ll work on our rotations and really improve on that for the next game.”
Texas, which will not start conference play for another seven weeks, has a strong base to build momentum going into the Florida Atlantic University tournament beginning Nov. 29. Among other teams, Texas will have to play George Tech, which lost by only 11 points to No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 16.
The Longhorns have two days off until they play against Furman University on Sunday. The game will begin at 7 p.m. in the Frank Erwin Center. The Paladins (3-0) upset Clemson Nov. 14.
“We’ve watched the tape on them,” Goestenkors said of Furman. “They do a great job of executing, they have very skilled players. They’re not intimidated by anybody so it’ll be a great test for us.”
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