Texas routs South Carolina for 1st women’s SEC tournament title

Greenville, SC – Twenty seconds into the women’s SEC Tournament championship game, texas Started the scoring with a layup. Another bucket in the paint 26 seconds later. After three more layups and a few jumpers, the Longhorns had taken a shocking 14–0 lead over the three-time defending champions South Carolina.

The first five and a half minutes set the tone for the entire game. No. 3 South Carolina (31-3) tried to make a run, but No. 4 Texas (13-3) answered each time – never letting its lead dip below double digits. 78-61 The win and its first SEC Tournament title Sunday afternoon.

“Some of my kids were on a mission here,” Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said.

One of them was the tournament MVP madison bookerWho scored 18 points on 61% shooting and averaged 20 points in three tournament wins.

“We’re in the SEC,” said Booker, who scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the second half. “We’re here to play, and we’re here to win.”

The victory was as comprehensive as it was surprising. Not only had South Carolina won the last three SEC Tournament titles, but the Gamecocks had not lost so badly in an SEC Tournament game since 2011.

Even when the Gamecocks found themselves down during a run of conference dominance, they found ways to respond. But on Sunday, in front of a packed crowd of South Carolina fans, the Gamecocks came out mentally and physically exhausted.

Texas took full advantage as Schaefer, who also guided mississippi state Captured the crown in 2019, becoming the first coach at multiple schools to win a women’s SEC Tournament title.

“Our team knows we didn’t play our best basketball, didn’t play as well as we’re capable of,” South Carolina coach Don Staley said.

As for the message he gave his team in the locker room after the game?

“I told them the last time we lost in this situation, we won the national championship,” Staley said. “This could be exactly what this team needs. It’s not like I’m thinking about coming in today, but now that we’re here and it’s a reality, you look for things that have a connection, that can give your team what it needs to make a run for a national championship. I think we have enough room to do that.”

Schaefer does the same. Both teams should still be seeded No. 1 in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but there’s no doubt that Texas is playing its best basketball of the season – dominating South Carolina by a lot. ole miss And alabama In this tournament.

“If you could put it in a bottle and put a cork on it … if we could open that cork every game and play the same way? Be a tough player,” Schaefer said.

“But that’s the challenge with coaching kids. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get day-to-day and game-by-game. But this is their 31st win. They’ve found a way to win most nights. From a confidence standpoint, our kids are pretty confident right now. I thought they played that way tonight.”

Texas now has 14 wins over AP ranked opponents this season – including three against top-five teams (two vs. South Carolina, one vs. UCLA).

The opening minutes proved crucial. Schaefer said he began challenging his team to play with tenacity on Saturday, especially in an environment that will favor South Carolina. On the board in the locker room, he again mentioned that this game will be about toughness, resilience and bringing the edge.

Texas did it from the jump – starting 7-of-7. Six of those shots came in the paint, where South Carolina has generally been very good defensively. Justice Carlton Was particularly effective driving the lane in the opening quarter, helping set the tone with 13 first-quarter points. “Did anyone, including me, think we would be down by 14 in that game, with that team, in that zone?” Schaefer said. “You want to keep those kids in the moment. They’re going to make a run, and you’ve got to be there to respond to it. And that’s what was so impressive. By the end of the first quarter, I’m good. I just felt like my group was ready. They’ve really responded the last three weeks and are in a different zone right now.”

Staley called a timeout after Texas led 14–0, but said he had never thought about doing it before because he wanted to see if his team could gather itself and make some plays. Instead, as Texas made all of its shots, South Carolina had one field goal attempt and five turnovers. It was the longest game-opening run against the Gamecocks in the last eight years.

“They forced us to play a certain way. I mean, turning the ball over is not something you can do to start a game like Texas and give them a lead,” Staley said.

South Carolina had to change its offensive game plan to get back into the game, and that limited opportunities for the guards. Tania Latson And raven johnson. Latson finished with just four points, while Johnson – after scoring a career-high 22 points on Saturday – managed nine.

“Against a team like Texas, they’re going to take advantage of a bad start and there’s no excuse for that,” Latson said. “We were tired, but we still had to go out there and fight. They were equally tired. They came out with more energy, and they had the first strike. We already had the mentality that we were tired. We didn’t come out with the mentality we needed to.”

Staley and his players said they hope to use the loss as a teachable moment ahead of the NCAA Tournament. But the loss means the Gamecocks could go to Sacramento as the No. 1 seed, while Texas will get a chance to play closer to home in Fort Worth, the other regional site.

After everything Schaefer said about South Carolina having an advantage by playing so close to home in the SEC Tournament, Texas could have a chance to make the Final Four with that same advantage.

Schaefer said he’s not thinking that far ahead.

“I’m always a one-game-at-a-time type of player, so I’ll be pretty concerned about that first-round matchup,” Schaefer said. “After that, I’ll go wherever they send me. I’ll take this team to Timbuktu.”

“It would obviously be nice to have us just because of our fans. I think they’d really take advantage of the opportunity to follow us, but I’m not going to go down that path right now. Our kids, what they’ve done all season, the resume speaks for itself.”