With just three minutes and some change off the clock in the first quarter of Sunday’s Southeastern Conference championship, Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball head coach, was forced to take her opening timeout. It was less of a precautionary stoppage and more of a last resort.
The Longhorns had already put the Gamecocks in a steep uphill position, catching them by surprise with a 14-0 lead.
To many around the Gamecock-favored arena, it probably felt as if the Longhorns accumulated their lead in the blink of an eye. South Carolina had taken just one shot due to Texas’ turnover-forcing defense.
But for head coach Vic Schaefer’s team, the dominance his players came out swinging with was no fluke — it was rooted in an energy and physicality meticulously refined over the course of the season. Moreover, it was created by a mentality of team-first basketball with a rhythm, focus and goal.
“I am constantly just trying to talk to (my players) and get them to understand if you’re going to play a team like that — so talented, well-coached, and then you’re gonna play in that environment — you’d better bring an edge, because they’re going to bring it,” Schaefer said. “Your edge (had) better be sharper, and it’d better be harder.”
Ahead of Staley’s timeout, the Longhorns had gone 7-7 from the field, five of those conversions coming with an assist attached, while forcing South Carolina to commit five turnovers on its first six possessions.
It was a dream start — built by turning defense into offense — that created a separation between two familiar foes, as Sunday marked a trilogy of matchups this season.
Yet, what happened next seemed to be as crucial as the blisteringly fast start. Schaefer emphasized that during South Carolina’s early stoppage, his team rallied behind the idea of still winning the rest of the quarter. And they did, leading by 15 after the first 10 minutes, convincing him his team was more than ready for the task at hand.
“Did anybody, including me, think we’re going to jump out 14 to nothing in this game, in that arena, with that team?” Schaefer said postgame. “You want to keep those kids in the moment, because … (South Carolina is) going to make a run, and you’ve got to be there to answer it. And that’s what was so impressive.”
From then on, Texas’ lead dwindled to single digits for only 45 seconds total. Every time South Carolina rallied some momentum, the Longhorns found an answer. That came through organized sets, well-timed passes and overall team basketball.
Postgame, junior forward Madison Booker said the first two times the Longhorns faced the Gamecocks this season, mistakes prevented Texas from reaching the level of team basketball it strives for.
The lowpoint of Texas’ play then came on Feb. 12, when the Longhorns uncharacteristically surrendered 86 points to Vanderbilt in a lopsided defeat.
But, with an SEC championship now in hand, she reflects on that game as a wake-up call that informed the team of the changes needed towards its group identity on both sides of the floor.
“We started talking about how we can help each other on the court,” Booker said. “This is a sisterhood, but it doesn’t show on the court. Talking about really making sure that we always have each other’s back on the court, whether we’re in help, we’re sealing, we’re building a wall. So, I think that’s the mindset we came to this game with.”
The task now becomes retaining that team-encompassing mindset through the hiatus between Sunday and the Longhorns’ first game of the NCAA Tournament.
Texas will host its tournament opener on either March 20 or 21 at the Moody Center.
