As time expired in Birmingham, Vic Schaefer fell to his knees.
The head coach, who said this game is the hardest to win in the NCAA Tournament, led his team to a 58–47 victory over TCU and punched a ticket to Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four. And on Monday night, it was done in pure Schaefer style.
For the first time in 22 years, the Longhorns advanced to the Final Four and broke a streak of Elite Eight losses that Texas had not been able to shake. But this team found a way, and Schaefer could not have been more proud.
“For me, this is not a check. This is who I am,” Schaefer said, tearing up. “Unfortunately, a lot of people say it’s not who you are, it’s what you do, but for me, it’s who I am. I can’t sugarcoat that.”
Texas came out hard, with the strong defensive pressure that the team and Schaefer are known for. In the first quarter, the Longhorns forced eight turnovers and prevented TCU’s top scorers, Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince, from even scoring. The graduate guard and center were off all game, with Prince only putting up four points and most of Van Lith’s 17 points coming from free throws.
A huge part of that was because of Rori Harmon. The senior guard was in vintage form and was defending Van Lith so hard that Schaefer said she could probably tell you the flavor of gum she was chewing.
Harmon experienced a similar moment to her coach as the clock ran out. Bent over, with both hands on her knees, Harmon struggled to hold it together. After going out with a torn ACL last season, she had to watch from the sidelines as her team attempted a run in the tournament. But Monday night, she got to live it.
“I don’t really like crying for real, but when I think about this team going through what it goes through with adversity, gone with as far as injuries or just anything,” Harmon said. “I was just being selfish and thinking about what I’ve been through as a player to come back from my ACL injury in 10 months.”
Junior center Kyla Oldacre was tasked with guarding Prince, and she did that and some. The 6-foot-6 center stole a pass from Van Lith to Prince, raced down the court, sank a layup and drew a foul from Prince in the process. The normally stoic Oldacre crashed into the pads, a smile plastered across her face as her teammates on and off the court lost their minds.
Sophomore guard Madison Booker had a slow start. The SEC Player of the Year’s shots were not landing, and she was visibly frustrated. But Schaefer and her teammates did not let her get down and encouraged her in the huddle. The second half went much better and Booker ended the night with a team-high 18 points.
But as Booker and the rest of the team threw confetti in the air, a familiar foe looms ahead of them.
Texas will head to Tampa to take on South Carolina. The Longhorns have lost to the Gamecocks twice this year and will be looking for revenge to get a chance at a national title.
