The Texas Longhorns are fresh into their 2023-24 campaign, but before getting into Big 12 play for the final time, they will face strong opponents early in the season.
The first major test for the Longhorns comes during Thanksgiving week in the Virgin Islands against the University of South Florida. Last year, the Bulls topped the American Athletic Conference and had a 27-7 record. This success in the regular season was good enough to earn an eighth seed in the NCAA Women’s March Madness tournament. In the tournament, the Bulls won their first round game against Marquette but fell to No.1 seeded South Carolina. The Bulls have a notable senior guard returning to the team. Sammie Puisis scored 532 points and played in all 34 games last year. Another notable return is sophomore wing Carla Brito. In her freshman year, Brito scored 293 points with a season high of 26.
Texas opens the last month of the year with a game against No. 2 UConn at the Moody Center on Dec. 3. Last year, the Huskies earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament and defeated Vermont and Baylor before losing to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen. The Huskies recently announced that star player Paige Bueckers would be returning this season after missing all of last year with an ACL injury. Overall, the Huskies went 31-6 on the season and only lost twice in conference play. When both teams met last year in November, the Longhorns fell short of a road victory 83-76. In that game, the Longhorns were without Rori Harmon which forced Sonya Morris to shoulder the offensive workload. Morris ended with 21 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was second with 13 points. This year, if both teams can come into this one healthy, it’ll be a must-see match up.
On Dec. 13, the Arizona Wildcats host the Longhorns in one of the few road games the team has during non-conference play. The Wildcats earned a No.7 seed and defeated West Virginia but were bounced from the tournament in the second round against Maryland. One notable return is fifth-year senior Helena Pueyo at the guard position. Pueyo was named to the 2023 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and played in all 32 games. She led the team with 21 blocks and 2.3 steals per game. In her senior year, forward Esmery Martinez played in 32 games and scored a total of 337 points. Along with her scoring output, Martinez had 19 blocks and 50 steals. She returns for her fifth year and looks to be a force down low again, reeling in 274 rebounds just a season ago. The Wildcats feature a high volume of scoring but also a stout defense.
