Texas women's basketball found out who they will play in their first game of this year's NCAA Tournament last night. The Longhorns will take on the William & Mary Tribe on Saturday night. Hopefully, the Longhorns will treat this game like any game they have played this season. Crazier things have happened during March Madness to the number one seeds. Let's look at the Tribe and see what the Longhorns are going up against tomorrow night.
The Tribe is coming into the tournament with a 16-18 overall record. It doesn't seem impressive, but one of their wins is knocking off the number one seed in the CAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The fact that they knocked off North Carolina A&T deserves some respect. They also picked up their first-ever NCAA Tournament win by eliminating High Point University in the First Four. This is not a team that Texas should take likely going into tomorrow's game.
William & Mary guard talked about how the win against High Point is not the end of making history in this tournament.
"Yeah, emotions are through the roof. We are still making history. This is a great group of girls we have competing. Just want to win everything we see in front of us, so dominate and just want to win."William & Mary guard Bella Nascimento
Going into tomorrow's game against the Tribe, the Longhorns must shut down Tribe Senior guard Bella Nascimento. She is their leading scorer this season, averaging 16 points per game. Sophomore guard Casey Geddes is another player the Longhorns will have to guard. She's averaging 9.6 points this season. It's going to be a fun game tomorrow night. However, the Longhorns need to focus on one game at a time and not worry about if they are taking on Creighton or Illinois.
William & Mary's Head Coach, Erin Dickerson Davis, has told her girls to celebrate their historic win last night and shift their focus towards Texas.
"Absolutely. I actually didn't think anything about Texas and that's not because they're not one of the best teams in the world. It's just because just like the conference tournament it was one game at a time. We'll be able to go back after this and shift our focus to Texas. I do want them to embrace this. I want them to have a good time. "Tribe Head Coach Erin Dickerson Davis
Texas needs Sophomore forward Madison Booker to be the SEC Player of the Year and put the Tribe out of its misery early in this game. They can't allow the Tribe to hang around and have a shot of eliminating Texas in the tournament's first round. Senior forward Taylor Jones is another player who has to dominate the boards for Texas to win tomorrow night. She can't allow the Tribe to have any second chance opportunities on the offensive end of the court.
As for the Longhorns' injury, it looks like Laila Phelia and Aaliyah Moore will be out for tomorrow's game against the Tribe. Both players have had long-term injuries this season and could possibly return in the later rounds. However, both of them will be out for this weekend. The Longhorns must rely on the freshman trio if they want to advance past this weekend.
Those attending the game tomorrow night must be loud and proud. The Longhorns have two more home games, including tomorrow night at Moody this season. The Longhorns need to know they have a fan base to support them throughout this tournament. It's going to be a fun weekend at the Moody Center. Enjoy March Madness Basketball because it's the best time of year for competitive basketball.