Texas Women's Basketball had a tough time putting the Ole Miss Rebels away in the fourth quarter last night. After battling it out in the game's final ten minutes, the Longhorns eliminated the Rebels and advanced to the semifinals today.
They will take on the LSU Tigers in a rematch from last month, when the resilient Longhorns beat them in Austin. The Tigers remember that loss very well and will challenge the Longhorns tonight. This won't be an easy victory for the Longhorns.
Everyone must be on their "A game" to beat the Tigers and advance to the Finals tomorrow. Madison Booker can't foul out against the Tigers tonight. She needs to play smart and avoid getting into foul trouble. The same thing goes for the rest of the starting lineup. Even though the Tigers are a bit wounded going into tonight's matchup, they are still a formidable opponent. Here is the preview for tonight's matchup against the #9 Tigers
Previewing the Tigers
One of the players the Longhorns won't have to deal with is Junior guard Flau'Jae Johnson. She has inflammation in her knee and is out for the SEC Tournament. I wish her the best in her recovery so she can play in the NCAA Women's March Madness tournament this year. However, Senior forward Aneesah Morrow will be a tough player to stop tonight. She finished the game with 36 points against the Gators yesterday, a new LSU Women's Basketball record for the SEC Tournament.
Vic Schaefer and the Longhorns have to be smart when guarding her. She can draw fouls and get Scheafer's best players in foul trouble. The one thing the Longhorns don't need is Rori Harmon or Madison Booker in early foul trouble. This is a game you wish Aaliyah Moore were healthy for. However, the Longhorns beat the Tigers in the last matchup, so they have a blueprint for slowing down the Tigers tonight. It will take a team effort to take this team down a second time this season.
Previewing the Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are coming off a very tough win against the Rebels. The Longhorns were close to blowing their lead in the fourth quarter and being eliminated in the quarterfinals. The Longhorns' ability to score off turnovers was the main difference in beating the Rebels. Booker finished the game with 19 points and was the leading scorer for the Longhorns yesterday. As mentioned above, the Longhorns can't afford Booker to foul out of the game tonight.
Booker and Harmon's ability to score will be needed tonight. Taylor Jones's ability to dominate the boards and grab rebounds will be another factor in beating the Tigers tonight. The Longhorns didn't win the rebound battle against the Rebels last night. The Tigers are known to be fierce in the paint. They beat teams by out-rebounding them and putting easy baskets through the hoop. It will be a long night if the Longhorns can't win the rebound battle on the boards against the Tigers.