Led by Madison Booker’s 18 points, the No. 4 Texas women’s basketball team ran away from the No. 5 LSU Tigers in the fourth quarter at Moody Center in Austin Thursday night, 77-64. Aaliyah Crump added 16 in a win that could set the Lady Longhorns up for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
A couple of weeks ago, Texas as the No. 2 team in the nation and a lock for a top seed in March Madness. But back-to-back road losses to No. 3 South Carolina and LSU sent the Horns tumbling down to the 4th spot in the poll. It was such a brutal stretch, Texas coach Vic Schaefer claimed the SEC had a vendetta against UT.
“They obviously have a vendetta against Texas because not only have we started in the league, and I get to play South Carolina twice last year, this year, I get LSU twice,” Schaefer said after the consecutive losses. “I have to play South Carolina on the road this year, as well as LSU. I get them back-to-back in the same week. Now, make that make sense.
“The league is hard enough as it is, but then to bless me, me and my group, with that, it really has a stench to it. … I’m really disappointed in the league for putting our kids in that position, but we play whoever’s in front of us.”
But Texas quickly righted the ship and now have consecutive wins over Top 10 teams. UT beat rival No. 10 Oklahoma 78-70 last weekend.
The surge has set Texas up for a coveted No. 1 seed in the postseason. UT’s resounding win over LSU has mitigated the Tigers as a threat. No. 7 Vanderbilt is the only Top Ten team left on Texas’ schedule before the SEC postseason tournament. If UT can get by the Commodores, then the Longhorns should have a No. 1 seed no matter what happens in Savannah.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Massive Lady Longhorns win over LSU sets UT up for No. 1 seed
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
