Before Texas women’s basketball stepped on the floor for the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, the madness of March came a bit early.
Texas was expected to battle the No. 6 seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals, No. 11 seed Alabama, who Texas played this past Sunday in the final regular season game, upset the Lady Vols in the second round of the tournament.
If the Longhorns won the Friday night game, then they would’ve most likely played the No. 2 seed Vanderbilt in the semifinals, a team that slaughtered the Longhorns a month ago.
The keyword is “would’ve,” as Ole Miss shocked the tournament by completely dominating the Commodores minutes before Texas took the floor — two major upsets in two days.
This bracket is not going the way everyone thought it would, but that didn’t matter to Texas. This team, at least for Friday night, clearly wasn’t trying to go home early like the others — especially to a team they just dominated less than a week ago.
That showed in Texas’ debilitating defense and succinct offense, dominating the Alabama Crimson Tide 83-60.
The Crimson Tide tried everything — they couldn’t get good looks from beyond the arc, couldn’t drive it in and the mid-range wasn’t reliable. The Longhorns’ disruptive, fast and physical defense made it nearly impossible to establish a rhythm early.
“There’s not a lot of letdown defensively,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. “We all know (Texas head coach) Vic (Schaefer) and his leadership. Defensively, he’s the best defensive coach in the country, in my opinion. … Great size, great energy and great presence on the ball. They just make it really, really hard for you to be comfortable.”
The cherry on top was Texas’ ability to shoot beyond the arc. It wasn’t just the usual suspects, as junior forward Madison Booker, fifth-year guard Rori Harmon, sophomore guard Bryanna Preston and freshman guard Aaliyah Crump all sank deep shots.
Preston, in particular, had a big night. The sophomore’s minutes have grown and grown throughout the season, as she has come back from an injury and is Harmon’s second-in-command at the point guard position. She played 25 minutes, the third-highest on the team, scoring 13 points with three assists.
While Preston doesn’t have the same experience or the numbers as her veteran teammate, she is quickly showing the same fervor. She is fast, chaotic and not afraid to be physical. Despite having to wait for her time, Schaefer saw the same characteristics in practice day in and day out.
“I think the thing that’s impressed me the most here in the last week is, when you’re waiting, you gotta work while you’re waiting,” Schaefer said. “A lot of players won’t work while they’re waiting. They’re just mad, or they just think they deserve this or (that). (Bryanna) has had a good, solid week and a half of practice. … She’s a great kid, and it’s been fun to watch her work and play well in practice, and then take it to the floor tonight and play well. So there’s nobody on the planet happier than I am to see her have success.”
A Texas team that is in harmony — a Texas team that suffocates offenses and can shoot from the perimeter is a dangerous squad for any team to go up against.
“I like my team and if we play like we played tonight, especially that first half, I’m (going to) like them a lot, and they’ll play for a while,” Schaefer said.
Texas is set to play Ole Miss in the semifinals of the tournament Saturday at 6 p.m.
