Texas Women's Basketball began their NCAA Tournament run against the William & Mary Tribe tonight at the Moody Center. The Tribe made things interesting in the first quarter as they kept pace with the Longhorns. The Longhorns only had a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter. It wasn't until the second period that the Longhorns settled down and took off with the lead. The Longhorns would win 105-61 over the Tribe tonight.
William & Mary will be back in the NCAA Tournament. They made some history in the First Four by winning their first-ever NCAA Tournament game in school history. Unfortunately, they got the short straw and had to go up against the Longhorns in the first round.
They deserve respect for what they accomplished this season as a team. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's game against the Tribe.
tonight's starting 5 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/6FK953vAFj
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 23, 2025
4. Dominating the boards
The Longhorns were front and center when the Tribe attempted to make a basket. Texas won tonight because it could contain the ball at the rim. They led the Tribe in rebounds by out-rebounding them 51-26 tonight. You could tell that the Longhorns could slow down the Tribe in the second quarter by grabbing rebounds and scoring points on the other end of the court. The Longhorns will need to dominate the boards again on Monday against Illinois to advance to Birmingham.
3. Lack of three-point baskets
The one thing that concerned me about tonight's win over the Tribe is the Longhorns didn't make many three-point baskets. They finished 3-9 from beyond the arc. The Longhorns will need to make threes in the later rounds if they want to advance to the Elite 8. Other teams can shut down the Longhorns at the basket and make their team one-dimensional. Being able to make three-point shots will make the Longhorns harder to beat as they advance in the tournament.
2. Booker showed up
Madison Booker showed up and was a force against the Tribe. Her ability to get to the rim tonight and score baskets helped the Longhorns advance to the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. She finished the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Booker has to show up every game in this tournament. The Longhorns need her to show why she won the SEC Player of the Year Award. It was a great start to the tournament for Booker tonight against the Tribe.
BOOKER DOUBLE-DOUBLE & TWENTY PIECE 🤘#HookEm | @maddiewitdab_ pic.twitter.com/vrbrDAt7Xf
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 23, 2025
1. Forcing turnovers
The Longhorns did a good job of forcing turnovers against the Tribe tonight. Texas forced the Tribe to turn the ball over 18 times tonight. Texas must win the turnover battle to make a deep tournament run this season. The Longhorns have done a good job winning the turnover battle against their opponents all season. Illinois better watch out on Monday because Texas could eliminate them if the Longhorns force many turnovers against them.