After waiting since Sunday to find out who Texas women's basketball will face in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, we now know who it'll be. Following Wednesday's First Four game between the Missouri State Lady Bears and the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks, Texas will take on the Lady Bears. It was a well-played game between two really great women's basketball programs.
Now, Texas can't take this team lightly. The Lady Bears won the Conference USA Championship against Louisiana Tech. They are a well-coached program that would love to do nothing more than cause absolute chaos on Friday afternoon in Austin. This isn't the William and Mary Tribe that the Longhorns played last year in the first round.
Here are four keys to the Longhorns taking care of business and moving on to play Oregon or Virginia Tech on Sunday.
1. Don't give the Bears any momentum
After watching some of their highlights on YouTube, they really do well feeding off momentum. While most of their wins are close victories, you can't let them go on runs during a game or else Texas could be in some trouble.
You know how the Longhorns came out against South Carolina in the SEC Championship? That's the type of start Texas needs on Friday afternoon in order to come away with a landslide victory in the first round.
2. Silence them with elite defense
Send the Lady Bears into the offseason with a Vic Schaefer defense masterclass. I want to see the Longhorns force turnover after turnover throughout the entire game tomorrow. Send a message to the Ducks and the Hokies that Texas isn't messing around this season. If the Longhorns aren't leading in steals, blocks, or rebounds, that would be disappointing.
It's time to really show the rest of the tournament that Texas is going all in for that NCAA Championship.
3. Shut down Kaemyn Bekemeier
Texas has to shut down the Lady Bears' leading scorer Kaemyn Bekemeier if they want to win this game. She's a guard who averages nearly 17 points per game and has been a source of offense for them all season. Texas' elite defense needs to step up if the Longhorns want to advance to Sunday's game. They cannot allow her to have any open space to make easy shots.
If the Longhorns can get the ball out of her hands, they will move on to the next round.
4. Let Madison Booker and Rori Harmon lead the way
Madison Booker and Rori Harmon are not strangers to what it takes to get to the Final Four. If Texas wants to have another long tournament run and win the Championship this season, it all starts with how these two veteran players play.
Booker and Harmon have to lead Texas to victory tomorrow night. While the Longhorns have other great players on their team, it all starts with the veteran leadership. Texas can win it all this season if it wants to, but it has to start with Booker and Harmon leading the way against the Lady Bears.