After Texas junior forward Madison Booker earned her second AP First Team All-American honor Wednesday, adding to an already decorated postseason, some online critics claimed she hadn’t earned it — that “PR” carried her there.
Those sentiments followed her into Texas’ Round of 32 matchup against Oregon, where the Ducks’ pep band chanted “overrated” as Booker stepped to the free-throw line early in the game.
By the end of the third quarter, Booker answered those critics.
She buried a 3-pointer to surpass her previous career-high of 31 points, silencing a small but vocal group inside the Moody Center and many more online.
March Madness has a way of separating the good players from the great ones — those who can lead and dominate under the weight of a single-elimination tournament.
But to call Booker’s performance Sunday night “dominant” hardly does it justice.
It very well may have been her best game in burnt orange. Even more, it was a legacy game in every sense of the word.
Booker scored a career-high 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals without a turnover, as Texas rolled to a 100-58 win over Oregon and its third-straight Sweet 16 appearance.
“She shot it well, got to the rim, she was aggressive,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “I mean, she’s a first team All-American for a reason. And she played like it tonight”
For many in the Moody Center, the performance was stunning in scale. Booker’s talent is indisputable, but what she achieved in the game is something that is incredibly rare.
But it was no surprise for fifth-year point guard Rori Harmon.
Harmon said that from early in the day, Booker had that killer look in her eye, signaling to Harmon that she would be on attack mode from the moment the ball was tipped to when her minutes were over.
“I saw something coming today,” Harmon said. “I knew something special was going to happen.”
That premonition from Harmon couldn’t have been any truer. Booker scored 14 points in the first quarter and never slowed down, setting the program’s NCAA Tournament single-game scoring record.
While Booker’s individual brilliance was undeniable, it was supported by a team that understood how — and when — to find her. Texas head coach Vic Schaefer called the group “really cerebral,” noting that Booker’s teammates recognize the spots on the floor where she’s difficult to stop.
Booker also credited Schaefer for pushing her to be more aggressive offensively and to seek out key shots. While Schaefer has described her as unselfish, as she enjoys getting the assist just as much as making the shot, she’s learned to assert herself more, an evolution that is paying off at the right time.
“I think Coach Schaefer has really just pushed me into taking just a bigger role, just being aggressive on the offensive end, finding my shot, hunting my shot,” Booker said. “I think my coach did a great job just drawing up plays and putting me in the right position just to score the ball easily. Plus my teammates did a great job too. I can’t do it by myself. It’s not one on five, it’s five on five out there. They did a good job of getting me the ball in the right spot, cutting the details on the plays. So all credit to them for sure.”
When Booker checked out with three minutes left in the game, the Moody Center crowd roared in awe, chanting “MVP.” Senior guard Sarah Graves placed an imaginary crown on Booker’s head as she reached the bench — a fitting tribute to a historic performance.
