Madison Booker's foul trouble could spell ruin for the Horns in the Final Four

The Longhorns faced their newest conference rivals, the South Carolina Gamecocks, in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina, the only team to beat Texas twice during the 2024-25 season, pressed the Horns to their limit during the first half of the game, pressuring one Longhorn in particular.

Sophomore forward Madison Booker, who is the true leader of the Texas squad, collected three quick fouls during the first half of the matchup and rode the bench for far too long if Texas hoped to move on to the National Championship game.

Booker led Texas in scoring all season, with 16.5 points per game, and got off to a quick start in the first half of the Final Four game, going three-for-three from the field to collect a quick six points.

However, once Booker was called for her third foul of the half, head coach Vic Schaefer benched the forward for the second time of the game. When Booker only had two fouls, he was already cautious about playing her moving forward.

"Carefully," Schaefer said about playing Booker during the rest of the game. "We have to proceed very carefully."

Both Booker and fellow starter Rori Harmon have struggled with foul issues throughout the season as they tried to press forward in Schaefer's extremely stingy defense.

Booker sat for eight minutes and three seconds of the first half, and halftime reporters were saying that neither she nor Schaefer needed to worry too much about foul trouble since this game was do or die for the Longhorns.

The three first-half fouls were the first of her collegiate career. With Booker on the bench and a risk of her fouling out, the Longhorns might need to figure out their travel plans back to Austin before the Final Four matchup ever ended.

At halftime, Texas was outscored by 11 with Booker on the bench, but only trailed 38-35 against the Gamecocks as the two teams headed to their locker rooms. Booker had seven of the 38 points for the Horns.