Texas Women's Basketball has finally arrived back in the Elite 8 after being eliminated by North Carolina State in this round last season.
The Longhorns have been on a fantastic journey to return to this stage in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. They have gone through a gauntlet in the SEC Conference to prepare for their next opponent, the TCU Horned Frogs. Tonight's game will be one of the most anticipated match-ups the Longhorns have played all season long.
The Horned Frogs are in the middle of a "Cinderella run" in the tournament. They eliminated Notre Dame from the tournament, a complete shock to some women's basketball fans. Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith has been an unstoppable player for the Horned Frogs recently.
Can the Longhorns overcome the in-state opponent and take on South Carolina in the Final Four? Here is a preview of tonight's matchup against the Horned Frogs.
Previewing the TCU Horned Frogs
Let's start with TCU's number one player, shall we? Van Lith has carried this team deep into the tournament this season. She's an athletic guard who's a pain to guard against because she's so versatile that you don't know how she will attack your team.
She can pull back and hit threes, or drive it into the paint and draw fouls against your post players. She's probably the number one player that Vic Schaefer has on the scouting report for tonight's game.
It will be interesting to see how the Horned Frogs use Van Lith tonight against the Longhorns. They could use her to attack the perimeter to get Taylor Jones into foul trouble, or she could be a step-back assassin from beyond the arc.
The Longhorns can't give her any type of separation in which she can knock down wide-open shots. They have to stay close and force her to pass the ball to her teammates. Let's take a look at one more player that could be an issue tonight for the Longhorns.
Horned Frogs center Sedona Prince is another player the Longhorns need to clamp down on tonight. She is their primary post player who could have a bright future in the WNBA. The former Longhorn will probably want to get revenge on her former school for how they handled her broken leg surgeries.
Taylor Jones might need help in the post tonight to prevent Prince from doing any damage. Letting Prince continue to raise her WNBA draft stock could cause the Longhorns to get eliminated in this round for a second consecutive season.
Previewing the Longhorns
Let's go over who the Longhorns need to show up tonight to advance to the Final Four and take on South Carolina for the fourth time this season. First off, Madison Booker must show up tonight. The Longhorns can't afford for her to have a bad night shooting the ball.
She has been their primary scorer during their tournament run this season. Booker will have a chance to make a career-defining performance on one of the biggest stages tonight.
Bryanna Preston and Jordan Lee are other players fans would like to see shine for the Longhorns tonight. The Longhorns wouldn't be in the Elite Eight if it weren't for their performances in the Sweet 16 against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Both players stepped up big time off the bench for the Longhorns and deserve their acolytes and praises. It would be nice to see the future of the ItTexas Women's Basketball program help the team advance to their first Final Four appearance since 2003.