A Texas team without Rori Harmon faced a TCU team without Sedona Prince, and, despite missing key players, they put on a show. Texas came out on top with a 72-60 win.
“Rori is one of the best players in college basketball, so they built the system around her,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “We (used to play) through Sedona, defensively we used to do a matchup zone because she’s unbelievable at protecting the rim as a shot blocker, and we can’t do it anymore.”
The first half was anyone’s game.
“When you’re wounded and you lost your best player, your kids tend to rally,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said. “I think (Campbell’s) kids are rallying, and he’s done a great job.”
After a scoreless first minute, senior forward Khadija Faye stepped up to the line to score two free throws. TCU sophomore forward Aaliyah Roberson soon responded to level the game for the first time. In her first game back at Moody Center since her injury in early December, senior forward Taylor Jones scored four more points for Texas and gave her team a six point lead. Two minutes later, the Horned Frogs equalized and took a 9-8 lead.
From that point on, the teams went back and forth, switched the lead and the first quarter ended on a 13-13 tie.
The second quarter had a similar story, and neither team could get a lead of more than three points. It wasn’t until the end of the first half that the game changed. Senior guard Shay Holle scored a three pointer for the Longhorns. In the last two minutes of the first half, Holle had two three-pointers and graduate guard Shaylee Gonzales had one. Texas led 34-26.
“It was critical,” Schaefer said about the gained momentum. “It was a two point game. (Holle and Gonzales) had back-to-back threes to get it to eight. TCU played awfully well and we hadn’t played well to that point.”
It was all Texas in the third quarter, with the Longhorns tallying a 14 point lead. But the game was not over yet, and the Horned Frogs narrowed the gap going into the last period. Texas didn’t lose the lead, but TCU put strong pressure on the team through the remaining 10 minutes.
Freshman forward Madison Booker scored 18 out of her 21 points in the second half and was the game’s top scorer for the second consecutive match. Booker was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday and became the first Big 12 freshman to win the award since 2020.
“She’s great, she’s gonna be an All-American multiple times,” Schaefer said about Booker. “She loves the game, she’s coachable. … That’s what it takes to be great, you have to have humility.”
Texas will play at No. 11 Kansas State, which is undefeated in conference play, on Jan. 13.
“I’m really excited for the matchup,” Jones said. “I think it’ll be a good test for us down low.”
