The No. 6-seed Texas women’s basketball team came into Wednesday night’s contest against No. 3-seed UCLA with a disappointing 1–5 record against AP Top 25 opponents.
The Longhorns improved upon that record at the most important moment of the season with a big 71-62 win against the Bruins in the second round of the NCAA tournament after a dominant second quarter run.
After building a convincing 21 point halftime lead, Texas’ foul trouble allowed UCLA to cut into the deficit and give the Longhorns a scare. But Texas’ defense stiffened in the fourth quarter, holding the Bruins to 8-for-21 shooting over ten minutes and allowing the Longhorns to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.
The gutsy performance reminded head coach Vic Schaefer of why he fell in love with coaching in the first place, he said after the game.
“I’ve been a part of some really special wins in 36 years of coaching, and today’s win, seeing how hard those kids played today, the humility that they played (with), it’s just why you do what you do as a coach,” Schaefer said. “That game today is why we coach.”
Texas controlled the second quarter on both ends of the court, outscoring UCLA 22-6 in the period. The Longhorns’ relentless defensive effort held the Bruins to their second-lowest scoring quarter all season, paired with a scorching offensive run backed by the Texas guards.
Sophomore guard Celeste Taylor’s hot hand from beyond the arc and hustle defensive plays put Texas in a good position going into halftime. Tying her career high points total with 24, Taylor propelled the Texas offense in desperate times, Schaefer said.
“Celeste (Taylor) was really special today,” Schaefer said. “(She) made big shots. She had a heat check two times in a row in the first half. She was just feeling it.”
However, the comfortable lead started to fall apart in the second half. Texas committed costly fouls in the third quarter and sent UCLA to the line 15 times, where the Bruins capitalized on 87% of those shots.
After allowing UCLA to creep back into the game, Texas found the chemistry and toughness it had strived for over the course of the season. The Longhorns withstood the Bruins’ run and stayed together when adversity struck, Taylor said.
“Basketball is a game of runs, so the other team is going to go on a run at some point,” Taylor said. “But at the end of the day, as long as we stay together everything will be fine. Just staying together and staying focused is the most important thing to us.”
Needing a fourth quarter push to secure the win, Texas found valuable help from its veterans. Junior forward Lauren Ebo and junior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor, along with graduate transfer guard Kyra Lambert, provided the bulk of offensive production in the quarter while junior center Charli Collier was in foul trouble.
“Other players have to step up and that’s what happened,” Taylor said. “Jo (Allen-Taylor) was hitting big shots, Lauren (Ebo) played a good game, Kyra (Lambert) stepped up. She had 10 rebounds as a point guard.”
All season long, Schaefer talked about the lack of experience and the immaturity of his young basketball team. On Wednesday night, however, Schaefer saw evidence of growth as the Longhorns advanced further into the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re still young, inexperienced and we have some maturity issues at times, but we’re getting better and that’s what I really love about this team,” Schaefer said. “We keep working hard, we keep developing our players. A day like today it brings it all to the front.”
