The last time Texas women’s basketball was in Birmingham, Alabama, the Longhorns punched a ticket to the Final Four — the program’s first in over two decades.
Now, seven months removed from the national semi-final loss to South Carolina, Texas is back in Birmingham, this time for Southeastern Conference Media Day.
After winning 35 games and earning a share of the SEC regular-season title in their first year in the conference, the Longhorns have proven they can compete among the nation’s elite. But they still haven’t taken that final step up from contender to champion.
For graduate guard Rori Harmon, it is important to take things day-by-day, starting in October, for the Longhorns to realize their dream come March.
“I think our thing right now is just getting 1% better every day,” Harmon said. “Coach sends us a really good phrase or a Bible verse every day, and I think we all embody that and take it personally. … You’re not going to have a perfect day every day, but it’s about how you respond the next day.”
Harmon, entering her fifth season, was named to the preseason All-SEC Second Team. Two years after recovering from an ACL injury, she’s expected to return to her explosive form that once made her one of the best point guards in the country.
Junior forward Madison Booker was named the SEC preseason Player of the Year and preseason All-SEC First Team after a breakout sophomore season. She averaged 16.3 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game and shot 46.4% from the field.
Booker’s talent and versatility are already entrenched in the Texas system, but head coach Vic Schaefer said he wants to see her evolve into a stronger leader — a vocal and steady presence for a roster that features several new faces.
“(I’m) just trying to play a role and trying to do whatever my team needs to win,” Booker said.
The impact of the dynamic duo is undeniable, but it’s going to take more than two athletes on the roster to help the Longhorns reach their ultimate goal. Schaefer has looked to the group of sophomores, particularly guards Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston, to take a bigger role in the upcoming season, bringing depth and reliability on the court.
“I really like Bry and Jordan and their improvement that they’ve made,” Schaefer said last month during media availability. “The most improvement you make is between your freshman and sophomore year, and those two have really made some big improvements.”
Maintaining last season’s success won’t come easy. Texas faces one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Longhorns will play a brutal stretch from January to early February, featuring back-to-back road matchups against No. 5 LSU and No. 2 South Carolina, followed by a rivalry home game against No. 6 Oklahoma.
Despite the long road ahead, the Longhorns welcome the challenge — because it’s what their identity is built on.
“We take great pride in being a tough, physical, aggressive basketball team,” Schaefer said. “These kids think they’re the toughest team in the country. They believe that. They believe it because they invest in that part of it.”
