Cliffs Notes: A terrific season came to an end on Saturday, as Texas lost 74-54 to South Carolina in the first Final Four semi-final on Friday night.
The Participants: No.1 Texas (35-4) and No.1 South Carolina (35-3)
Game MVP: Freshman Jordan Lee kind of saved Texas from a historical beat-down by leading the team with 16 points, including 3 of 7 from three-point range. It was a huge big-game performance for a young player that felt like the only Texas player that wasn't caught in a moment that was too big for them.
Not Her Night: Madison Booker has been a monster for the Longhorns all season, but in the biggest game of her life, she found herself needlessly in serious foul trouble and it ended up throwing her out of a performance that started out with a bang. Instead, Booker finisher with 11 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists and 2 turnovers. She's so much better than this kind of performance, but it's the one that she delivered on a night when her team needed her to be the best player on the floor.
More Was Needed: The starting trio of Taylor Jones, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Shay Holle combined to score 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting. None of UT's starters made a single three-pointer and only Booker took a single three-point attempt.
The Game Was Decided When... Pick any moment from the third quarter because South Carolina completely outclassed the Longhorns in outscoring them 20-9 in the quarter after going into halftime with a 3-point lead. The one that felt like the dagger in the heart was a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter that gave SC a 58-41 lead. No one is coming back from that.
Holding On For Dear Life: The moment Madison Booker picked up her 2nd foul with 3:04 left in the first quarter with the Longhorns leading 12-7. USC went on a 11-6 run to end the quarter, which wasted what had otherwise been a very strong start for the Longhorns. In total, Booker was forced to sit for the next 8:03 of game time, with the Longhorns going from leading by 5 to trailing by 1.
Final Thoughts: Ultimately, if these teams played 10 times, it feels like South Carolina would win 8 or 9 of them and the conditions that would need to occur are the ones that occurred in Austin earlier this season. Otherwise, South Carolina combined to beat Texas by 64 in other three games this season. The Gamecocks have more talent, more athleticism, more shooting and maybe better coaching at the very highest of the highest levels of the sport. The lack of perimeter shooting and the overall lack of clarity about the importance of the three-point shot felt like a real critical element of what was missing tonight for the Longhorns. Bully ball just doesn't work if the other team has 8 players better than your second or third best player, especially when your best player gets into foul trouble and has a disappointing night. It was a great season for the Longhorns, but the next step is the hardest step of them all to make as a program. That doesn't take away from the best season this program has seen in almost 40 years, but it's a reminder of the bar that the Longhorns are trying to climb.
The Participants: No.1 Texas (35-4) and No.1 South Carolina (35-3)
Game MVP: Freshman Jordan Lee kind of saved Texas from a historical beat-down by leading the team with 16 points, including 3 of 7 from three-point range. It was a huge big-game performance for a young player that felt like the only Texas player that wasn't caught in a moment that was too big for them.
Not Her Night: Madison Booker has been a monster for the Longhorns all season, but in the biggest game of her life, she found herself needlessly in serious foul trouble and it ended up throwing her out of a performance that started out with a bang. Instead, Booker finisher with 11 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists and 2 turnovers. She's so much better than this kind of performance, but it's the one that she delivered on a night when her team needed her to be the best player on the floor.
More Was Needed: The starting trio of Taylor Jones, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Shay Holle combined to score 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting. None of UT's starters made a single three-pointer and only Booker took a single three-point attempt.
The Game Was Decided When... Pick any moment from the third quarter because South Carolina completely outclassed the Longhorns in outscoring them 20-9 in the quarter after going into halftime with a 3-point lead. The one that felt like the dagger in the heart was a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter that gave SC a 58-41 lead. No one is coming back from that.
Holding On For Dear Life: The moment Madison Booker picked up her 2nd foul with 3:04 left in the first quarter with the Longhorns leading 12-7. USC went on a 11-6 run to end the quarter, which wasted what had otherwise been a very strong start for the Longhorns. In total, Booker was forced to sit for the next 8:03 of game time, with the Longhorns going from leading by 5 to trailing by 1.
Final Thoughts: Ultimately, if these teams played 10 times, it feels like South Carolina would win 8 or 9 of them and the conditions that would need to occur are the ones that occurred in Austin earlier this season. Otherwise, South Carolina combined to beat Texas by 64 in other three games this season. The Gamecocks have more talent, more athleticism, more shooting and maybe better coaching at the very highest of the highest levels of the sport. The lack of perimeter shooting and the overall lack of clarity about the importance of the three-point shot felt like a real critical element of what was missing tonight for the Longhorns. Bully ball just doesn't work if the other team has 8 players better than your second or third best player, especially when your best player gets into foul trouble and has a disappointing night. It was a great season for the Longhorns, but the next step is the hardest step of them all to make as a program. That doesn't take away from the best season this program has seen in almost 40 years, but it's a reminder of the bar that the Longhorns are trying to climb.
