Aaliyah Moore was sick, but helping Texas win the Big 12 women's tournament sure helped
After Tuesday night's 70-53 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer revealed that some of his players had battled an undisclosed illness during their stay in Kansas City, Mo.
Senior guard Shay Holle, for example, wasn't feeling well before Monday's semifinals. But she still played 40 minutes and was responsible for the two biggest shots in Texas' 71-64 win over Kansas State at the T-Mobile Center.
Then there was Aaliyah Moore.
Schaefer said Moore got only a few hours of sleep before the championship game and had been “puking all night.” She didn’t attend the team shootaround during the day, and Schaefer didn’t know if she’d play against the Cyclones.
More: How does Texas' résumé stack up with the other No. 1 seed hopefuls?
Moore did play, and she played well. The junior forward contributed 14 points and six rebounds over 26 minutes of playing time, and she joined teammate Madison Booker on the Big 12’s all-tournament team.
"I mean, at the end of the day, we're tough at Texas," Moore said. "I play for my teammates; I play for my coaches, my fans, everyone that was supporting us today. At the end of the day, it's bigger than me. So, yeah, I didn't feel great, but we had business to take care of, and we took care of it. So even though my stomach may be hurting, I'm a Big 12 champ, OK? So it's worth it."
Texas (30-4) is one of five teams considered in play for No. 1 seeds in next week's NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns are one of three 30-win teams in the country; No. 1-ranked South Carolina (32-0), which won the SEC Tournament, is a No. 1 lock, but No. 2 Iowa (29-4), No. 3 USC (26-5), No. 4 Stanford (28-5) and No. 5 Texas are vying for the other No. 1 spots.
USC has beaten Stanford twice and won the Pac-12 Tournament after tying for second in the regular season; the Trojans' second win over the Cardinal came in the Pac-12 championship game. Iowa tied for second in the Big Ten in the regular season but won the conference tournament, same as Texas in the Big 12.
Selection Sunday is this weekend.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas women's basketball's Aaliyah Moore battled sickness in title win
