Texas Women's Basketball traveled to South Carolina to take on the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks. This is the first game against a top-ten team for the Longhorns this season, and it was going to be a challenge. You can't miss a lot of shots against a team like the Gamecocks.
They are great at scoring at the other end after rebounding a missed shot. At the end of the third period, the Longhorns only made 25 percent of their shots.
The Longhorns would lose 67-50 to the Gamecocks and move to 16-2 this season. Texas gave it their all against one of the elite teams in the nation this season but didn't do enough to come away with the win this afternoon.
This game felt like more of a learning experience for the ladies because they wouldn't sweep every conference team on their schedule this season. Here are the three takeaways from today's loss against the Gamecocks.
Takeaways from Texas women's basketball's double-digit loss to South Carolina: 3. Texas did their best against a good program
I had a feeling going into this afternoon's game that the Longhorns were going to get humbled. Dawn Staley is one of the best college women's basketball coaches in the country, and her team is always ready to compete at a high level.
The Longhorns kept it close in the first half of the game but lost control in the second half once the Gamecocks made changes. The Longhorns weren't going to sweep their entire conference schedule this season. The Longhorns will learn from this game and be more prepared for teams like South Carolina.
2. Not turning the ball over as much
The one good thing for the Longhorns this afternoon was they didn't turn the ball over much. I was concerned about that with how good the Gamecocks are defensively. The Gamecocks turned the ball over more than the Longhorns this afternoon.
The Longhorns would have been in the game this afternoon if they made more of their shot attempts. The Longhorns deserve credit for protecting the ball against a well-coached Dawn Staley team.
1. Madison Booker taken out of the equation
South Carolina deserves credit for shutting down Madison Booker from doing any damage this afternoon. If Texas wanted a shot at beating the Gamecocks this afternoon, Booker needed a good game like she did against Arkansas.
Booker would be limited to seven points, and the Longhorns picked up their second loss this year. This was an excellent game for the Longhorns to learn from, and they must improve to compete in this conference. The Longhorns will be back in action at Auburn on January 16th.