AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Longhorns roll into the women's NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed and a friendly road map for a return trip to the Final Four.
They aren’t the overall No. 1 seed for March Madness. That's UConn. But with a standout duo of Madison Booker and Rori Harmon, an emerging impact player in Justice Carlton, and the momentum of a romp through the SEC tournament, the Longhorns can make a solid argument they're the team to beat as they chase the program's first national title in 40 years.
“They’re good enough,” coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’re a veteran team in the right places. Our youth is mature now ... This is a team that can do it.”
Texas (31-3) opens play Friday against the winner of Wednesday's First Four matchup between Missouri State (22-12) and Stephen F. Austin (25-9).
Should the Longhorns win their first two games on their home court, they'll make just a 3-hour drive north to Fort Worth for the Sweet 16 and a regional final in front of what would likely be a very pro-Texas crowd.
“That's a pretty big deal to me,” said Harmon, a fifth-year player from the Houston area. “I'm all about my family and traveling and what's easiest for them.”
After a Final Four finish last season, the Longhorns are “extremely” hungry to win that elusive national title, Booker said.
“We want to be the last one standing,” she said.
Texas' lone national championship came in 1986 when the Longhorns were the first national title winners to go undefeated. Texas made the Final Four in 2003, then waited 22 years to return, only to get bounced by a thumping loss to SEC rival South Carolina.
The Longhorns were determined to get back there. The league coaches made them preseason favorites for the SEC title. They didn't get that, but won their first league tournament crown. The season started with consecutive wins in consecutive days over UCLA and South Carolina, and closed with that rollicking win over the Gamecocks.
“I've seen us peak a lot in the past few games, even in practice,” Harmon said. “The challenge is to play even better.”
Carlton delivering standout moments
Booker, a pre-season All-American, led Texas with an 18.9-point average this season and was the MVP of the SEC Tournament. She and Harmon, a fifth-year point guard who averages 6.2 assists, are the engine that drives Texas in the locker room and on the court.
But's it's been Carlton's scoring potential that gives them the occasional turbo boost. She scored 10 points in the first quarter of a win over Georgia, 12 in the first quarter of a win over Kentucky, and nine in the first quarter of a win over Oklahoma.
In the SEC tournament title game, Carlton knocked South Carolina on their heels with 13 points in the first quarter on 6-of-7 shooting. The Gamecocks never recovered.
Texas needs more of that. Carlton has started 23 consecutive games and her production has been up and down. She averages 8.7 points and four rebounds, but hasn't posted consecutive double-figure scoring games since December.
After playing just three minutes in Texas' last four NCAA Tournament games last season, Carlton enters this one with the confidence that she can light up the basket in an instant.
“I do really enjoy that punch-first mentality,” Carlton said after the SEC championship game.
Schaefer's stings, zings and praise
The regular season wasn't as easy as the Longhorns' record suggests. The toughest moments and criticism often came from their own coach.
Schaefer benched Harmon for most the fourth quarter in regular-season losses at LSU and Vanderbilt. After an 18-point loss in Nashville on Feb. 12, he went on a postgame rant that questioned his team's heart and called the Longhorns “probably the softest team I've had in years.”
Texas hasn't lost since and Schaefer has softened around the edges a bit. The 65-year-old has been to the Final Four three times, but has yet to win a championship.
“They just keep winning ... I think we're playing our best basketball,” Schaefer said. “You know, none of us are perfect and we all have our days, but these kids are special.”
___
AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
