Texas nabs final Big 12 women's basketball tournament title before heading off to the SEC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Late Tuesday night, Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer sat on a podium inside of the T-Mobile Center and proclaimed, "Mission Control, we're home."
It was a reference to Apollo 13. Over the past few months, Schaefer has often leaned on the story of that 1970 space mission when speaking about what Texas had to endure this season after losing its best player for the season in December. When Rori Harmon went down with a knee injury, Schaefer said the team was "spinning out of control." As the head coach, it was his job to get them home.
Of course, that reference may seem a little dated. The Apollo 13 mission took place in 1970. The blockbuster movie that told its story came out in 1995. The oldest player on the Texas roster was born in 2000.
When Texas players were asked Tuesday night if they had seen the movie, freshman Madison Booker said she had even though her teammates didn't believe her. Shay Holle hadn't seen it, but the senior guard added that from what she knew, "it's a good comparison. Our world kinda got flipped around, but it was how we responded and today showed that."
What Texas showed on Tuesday was how to win a Big 12 championship. Booker turned in a memorable performance as No. 5 Texas rolled to a 70-53 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game. With the win, the SEC-bound Longhorns secured their third Big 12 tournament title to exit the conference on a high note.
"I couldn't be more proud of our group of kids," said Schaefer, who led Texas to a Big 12 Tournament title in 2022. The Longhorns also won in 2003. "We're not done playing, but just to go win a championship in this league against the teams we just went through, it's pretty special."
Putting the game away early
Ninety-six seconds into Tuesday's championship contest, Texas (30-4) grabbed a lead it never relinquished when Holle knocked down a 3-pointer. Texas exited the first quarter leading 19-10, and its defense then decided the game's outcome in the second session.
The Longhorns held Iowa State scoreless over the first 5½ minutes of the second quarter. Iowa State eventually scored 11 points in the quarter, but a team that shot 57.9% from the field in its semifinal win over top-seeded Oklahoma on Monday missed seven of the 11 shots it took.
Over those 10 minutes, UT forced six turnovers. On three separate occasions, Texas intercepted an Iowa State pass and raced down the court for a layup. Shaylee Gonzales recorded one of those steal-and-score highlights. Booker was responsible for another. DeYona Gaston also got into the mix.
Texas led 40-21 at halftime. Iowa State wouldn't get any closer than 12 points in the second half.
"Obviously that's what we focus on here at Texas, is our defense," Gonzales said. "We guarded our practice players during practice and we were very prepared and obviously that is where it started was our defense. That's what made us win the game. So I think everyone just being locked in and ready for that."
Madison Booker: another freshman splash
By itself, UT's defensive effort was enough to win the game. The defense, however, wasn't named the most outstanding player of the Big 12 Tournament. That honor belonged to Booker, the freshman who inherited Harmon's duties as the starting point guard on Dec. 27. The Big 12 co-player of the year scored a game-high 26 points on 12-of-22 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. She distributed five assists and didn't commit any turnovers. She also had two of Texas' seven 3-pointers, its most number of deep makes since Jan. 16.
Booker is just the fourth freshman to win the most outstanding player award at the Big 12 Tournament. She was already the first freshman to be named the conference's player of the year.
"She is only a freshman," UT junior forward Aaliyah Moore said. "We have three more years with her. It's going to be good. Pay attention, y'all. It's going to be really good."
Moore joined Booker on the all-tournament team after a 14-point, six-rebound performance. Gonzales added 11 points in the 17-point win over an Iowa State team that beat UT in last year's championship contest. Iowa State (20-11) was led by freshman Audi Crooks' 25 points and nine rebounds. The Cyclones ended up shooting 46.5% from the field, but their 20 turnovers turned into 23 Texas points.
"Certainly want to congratulate Texas. Phenomenal team," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "They looked like a Final Four team today."
Texas and Iowa State will now both turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA will reveal its bracket on Sunday night, and UT will be among the select teams contending for a No. 1 seed.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas beats Iowa State for Big 12 basketball tournament championship
