The crowd at the Moody Center looked a little different on Wednesday afternoon.
Over 5,000 kids from local Austin schools filled the seats for the annual “Forty Acres Field Trip” game, watching as Texas women’s basketball demolished Tarleton State 83-41.
No. 4 Texas put on quite the show for the younger audience, stalling Tarleton State’s offense and holding over a 20-point lead for most of the game. The kids jumped and screamed for every point Texas scored, taking the “Get Loud” commands from the jumbotron very seriously.
“I think the other team shot their first free throw and … I remember it got really loud and that my head started pounding … I couldn’t even hear my thoughts,” senior guard Rori Harmon said.
Texas struck first, forcing turnovers and ending the first quarter with a 21-point lead. Sophomore forward Madison Booker led scoring for the day with 25 points, followed by fifth-year guard Shay Holle’s 14. The Longhorns pressed Tarleton State up and down the court, fought for every jump ball and went 20 for 23 on free throws.
The game featured several challenges between teachers during timeouts and breaks, such as a dance-off and a tug-of-war, to name the “Teacher of the Game.” In his first time at a women’s basketball game, Jorge Dominguez, a fifth-grade teacher from Zavala Elementary, won the title and said it meant a lot to him and his students to be there.
“They’re having the time of their lives, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on a random Wednesday,” Dominguez said. “I think it benefits them … emotionally and academically.”
Head coach Vic Schaefer emphasized how loud the arena got and how special it was to see the kids in the stands watching his team play.
“You see those kids just wanting a piece of these (players): wanting to touch them, wanting them to get an autograph, get a picture,” Schaefer said. “They’re signing their shoes, their shirts, their hands. What an impact this team, these young ladies have.”
It was easy to see how much the experience meant to the young students, who danced to every song and cheered loudly, but it might’ve meant more to the players. Harmon, Booker and junior center Kyla Oldacre were all smiles when asked about the high-pitched cheers that drowned out Schaefer’s coaching from the sidelines.
“It feels good on us because we work so hard, just to also impact somebody else,” Booker said. “Because somebody impacted us to be better. The impact we have on them is amazing.”
Texas has a little over a week off before entering the Gulf Coast Showcase and taking on New Mexico State at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, in Estero, Florida. They return to the Moody Center to face Southern University on Dec. 11.
