Over the opening stages of the 2025-26 women’s basketball season, Texas head coach Vic Schaefer played the waiting game to get his team up to full strength.
Freshman guard Aaliyah Crump, sophomore guard Bryanna Preston, sophomore forward Justice Carlton, senior forward Teya Sidberry and senior guard Ashton Judd have all missed time this season due to injury. Senior center Kyla Oldacre was also kept off the floor during the preseason with an ankle issue suffered at the summer GLOBL JAM tournament.
Yet now, Schaefer has his whole core active, as Crump returned to the court on Jan. 18 against Texas A&M. That full health not only generates more versatility and depth in game, but translates to an intensity in the practice setting as well.
“It’s a great environment to play in,” Crump said. “We’re getting better every day because we’re going against the best of the best. And so I think that’s what we need on this team, is people that are going to challenge us and make us tougher and help us get better.”
Against the Aggies, 10 Longhorns played double-digit minutes. Although the Lone Star Showdown’s lopsided outcome contributed to the distribution of minutes, a 10-player rotation is likely to become the norm as Texas prepares to navigate the remainder of Southeastern Conference play.
Schaefer, though, has not been shy about his willingness to favor the hot hand or the most productive lineup at any given moment. A prime example came in the fourth quarter against LSU, when he went with Preston instead of graduate guard Rori Harmon down the stretch in a comeback effort. The result of his ideology — and having the personnel to enforce it — is a strengthened and continuous culture of earning minutes.
“I think (our depth) creates a little bit of competitiveness within my team,” Schaefer said. “And, you can get complacent a little bit, you can get comfortable. I don’t think coaches or players are at their best when they’re comfortable. I think you’ve got to live in an uncomfortable bubble to really reach your full potential. We’ve got that right now. We’ve got some real competitiveness going on. We got kids that want to play.”
The cancellation of Sunday’s road contest at Arkansas due to inclement weather now means that Texas’ break between games has been extended to 11 days, following a schedule of six conference games in 17 days to start January. The elongated bye may be of utmost importance as Schaefer hopes to maintain the potential of his squad.
While there’s always the chance that an intermission of this length could lead to rusty play on Jan. 29 against Florida, Schaefer’s team still has five consecutive ranked matchups looming.
When the season is all set and done, late January could be looked back upon as a valuable period for the Longhorns, marking a much-needed intersection of recuperation and uncomfortability, if the upcoming stretch is weathered successfully and spurs momentum.
“It’s good to get everybody back and get them healthy,” Schaefer said. “I hope we can keep them that way. I’m anxious to get back to playing like we were playing back in November with our lineup like it was. We’ll see how that all comes together.”
