After Texas women’s basketball’s demoralizing double-digit loss to Vanderbilt, head coach Vic Schaefer was not happy with his team.

And that’s putting it lightly.

“Some of us left our hearts back in Austin, Texas,” Schaefer said. 

The Longhorns trailed by as many as 26 in the second half. After making substitutions, the new group cut the deficit to 10, but the rally fell short.

Schaefer’s teams have ebbed and flowed in depth and talent over the years, but no matter who is on the floor, each has built its identity on toughness and aggressiveness. Every team has a bad game, especially in the Southeastern Conference. This, to him, was something else, and Schaefer was blunt about what he saw.

“We whine, we complain, you just have no heart. We’re not tough,” Schaefer said. “My staff and I were just really frustrated that we’re coaching that.”

For Schaefer, effort and energy should come with the scholarship. He doesn’t think he sees it in his team, at least not on Thursday night, calling his group one of the softest teams he’s coached in years. 

His comments sparked debate. Some felt he threw his team under the bus into a room of reporters and that these losses come down to coaching, especially given the talent on the roster. Others argued players need to hear hard truths when they don’t play well enough.

Regardless, his players will hear the same message in the locker room. Schaefer made clear he takes responsibility for the performance, but said everyone, from the staff to the players to himself, has to wear it. There’s simply no excuse.

“I’ll wear it, no problem, my fault. I’ll wear all of it, but it’s gonna stop now,” Schaefer said. “I don’t want to hear about anybody being tired, sore, whatever. It’s time to go to work. That’s it. That’s how you fix that. We all need to be accountable. I’ve had teams, all they got was a scholarship, and they laid it on the line. I never have had to coach their heart. I’m out there coaching heart tonight, y’all. That ain’t it. Not at Texas.” 

Just like in the Longhorns’ loss against LSU in January, Schaefer sat fifth-year point guard Rori Harmon for the entire fourth quarter. To him, it wasn’t a benching — it was giving another kid an opportunity to play. 

Online chatter also criticized the decision to take out the group’s heart, and arguably best player on the team, when things got tough. Regardless of semantics, Schaefer has long said he’ll put the five toughest players on the floor, no matter who they are, and he isn’t afraid to adjust the starting lineup.

He did praise the second-half group, who fought to climb back, including sophomore guard Bryanna Preston, who ran the offense for the entire fourth quarter, just as she did against LSU in January.

“I didn’t have too many active participants till I put that group in in the second half,” Schaefer said. “That kid, those kids, played well. They played hard.”

Texas will attempt to bounce back against Tennessee on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CT.