Last year’s heartbreak fuels Horns
AUSTIN — Months after the fourth-seeded Texas women's basketball team was unexpectedly bounced from the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the second round on their home court, Longhorns players returned to the Moody Center last summer and were confronted again by heartbreak.
Texas' coaching staff made sure players couldn't escape the season-ending loss to fifth-seeded Louisville. They posted the final score, 71-53, everywhere. In the gym. In their lockers. On bathroom stall doors.
The Longhorns transitioned from shell-shocked to motivated.
“I feel like seeing that kind of put a little fire into us and made sure that we didn't want that to happen again,” forward Deyona Gaston said.
This year, the Longhorns are again hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Moody Center, this time as a No. 1 seed. Texas opens the tournament on Friday against No. 16 Drexel, and if it advances will face either No. 8 Alabama or No. 9 Florida State on Sunday.
Although the Longhorns harbor bitter memories of their last March Madness appearance as a homecourt favorite, Gaston said that Friday's game is less about redemption than it is about resolve.
“When we lost to Louisville, it was probably the most heartbreaking thing that we ever did,” Gaston said. “And so this summer we took it very seriously to the point where we were all in the gym. We were either in the gym working on our craft, or we were playing pickup. We were talking about how we didn't want that to happen anymore. We basically came together and just said, ‘You know what? This year, we need to play harder. We need to make sure we're all in the gym, getting up shots and making sure we're ready for this year.' ”
Since losing to Louisville last March, Texas has lost just twice at home: a seven-point defeat to No. 10 Baylor in December, and a four-point defeat to Oklahoma in January. The Longhorns overcame a devastating midseason injury to point guard Rori Harmon, finished the season 30-4 and captured the Big 12 tournament title.
In the women's NCAA Tournament, a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed just once: when Harvard upset Stanford in 1998.
Drexel is accustomed to exceeding expectations as an underdog. The Dragons had a 12-14 record on March 1, then didn't lose another game en route to winning the Coastal Athletic Association tournament as the seventh seed.
“It's definitely something that we embrace, especially this year,” said Drexel forward Hetta Saatman. “We're ready for the challenge, I think any challenge. Nothing is too big for us. Earlier we were talking about David and Goliath, and I think we're up for anything.”
Texas, the Goliath in this pairing, is painfully aware of the perils that accompany such a distinction.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer said he hasn't mentioned the Louisville loss to his players this postseason, but he knows it still haunts them because he's heard them bring it up among themselves.
“You want them to learn from experiences and certainly that was a tough experience,” he said. “There's a reason why you play the game. Whether we're the favorite or the underdog, you still play the game and you don't win the game on paper. So for us, we realize we have an opportunity here at home and in this event, but you got to take it one at a time. We certainly have goals but you just have to know everybody's good at this at this stage of the year and you got to bring your A game. And the night that you don't, you got a chance to get beat. So that's been a constant message with our group here at Texas throughout the course of the season, and every season really.”
Texas returned 10 players from last season's roster, as well as 88% of its scoring and 94% of its rebounding. Schaefer still runs the same relentless defense known as 94 feet of hell, and the Longhorns' average scoring margin ranks fourth in the country.
Another major boost came from the addition of freshman phenom Madison Booker, the Longhorns' leading scorer and Big 12 Player of the Year, who took over starting point guard duties in December after Harmon tore her ACL.
According to Gaston, the Longhorns feel that their dominance this season derives from a less tangible source.
“Our focus,” she said. “Because last year, I felt like we had people in the gym, but it wasn't the whole team. I feel like that's the difference between this year and last year. We had people wanting to come and get extra shots up and wanting to basically get better at their craft. And so you have a whole bunch of people wanting to get better, then you have a better team.”
Besides Booker, Texas starts four upperclassmen: junior forward Aaliyah Moore, senior guard Shay Holle, senior forward Taylor Jones, and graduate guard Shaylee Gonzales. Each has played in multiple NCAA Tournaments.
Harmon, who while injured has assumed an informal coaching role on the bench, said Texas is better off this season because of its wealth of veteran players.
“Our chemistry has improved a lot and you can tell the maturity is spreading around the team and there's a lot of different things that we can do now that we are older,” Harmon said. “I just think we're a way better team and we're just way eager for success because of how much confidence and faith that we have in ourselves.”
Last year's March Madness experience could have made the Longhorns timid, wary of history repeating itself. Instead, Moore said that the opposite occurred.
“We're not scared of anyone,” Moore said. “I feel like everyone has stepped up in their roles and so when I say that, it's more of, we have confidence in ourselves and we're gonna play every game like it's our last, because it could be. And so I'm extremely proud of this team and the progress we've made, and I would put us up against anyone in the country.”