What a game to have a breakout performance in. Texas guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had a career day when the Longhorns faced the Illinois Fighting Illini in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 to win and advance to the Sweet 16.
Mwenentandahad, who came off the bench for the Horns in their postseason matchup, scored a jaw-dropping 19 points and six rebounds as well as one (resounding) block on defense.
She even had one of the biggest plays of the game when she recorded the block, flew down the court, and forced the and-one after scoring a layup at the opposite end.
this on repeat for the rest of the day 🤘#HookEm | @ndjakalenga pic.twitter.com/VxHhugIf3q
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 24, 2025
This season, Mwenentanda played in 33 of the Longhorns' 36 games, starting in 12 of the matchups and averaging 15.9 minutes per appearance. To put it lightly, her 29 minutes in the Round of 32 matchup was out of the ordinary and she earned it.
During the postgame press conference, Mwenentanda was asked if the added pressure and expectations from the breakout performance worried her or scared her at all. The guard kept her answer pretty simple:
"No, never been scared. I've been prepared for this moment since day one freshman year, preseason training," Mwenentanda said. "No, I'm not scared. I'm quite excited actually."
Mwenentanda only trailed All-American Madison Booker in scoring for the Longhorns on Monday, the sophomore forward recording 20 points.
Head coach Vic Schaefer started the postgame press conference by talking about how proud of his team he was, including specific shoutouts to Mwenentanda, Booker, Rori Harmon, and Shay Holle, all of who were in the press conference with him.
"Jak having a career day. If she'll stay within herself and just do things that we know she's capable of doing, she can do that," Schaeffer said of Mwenentanda. "Again, when I can play her, it opens up the playbook for me for some other players."
In the Sweet 16, Texas will face yet another perennial powerhouse as the Horns take on the Tennessee Volunteers, a fellow SEC program. During the regular season, Texas defeated the then-No. 17 Volunteers by just four points in a home matchup. The game is set to take place on Saturday, March 29.