Texas women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer acknowledged the challenges of facing South Carolina in the SEC Tournament title game, pointing to the environment in Greenville, South Carolina, as a contributing factor following the Longhorns’ 64-45 loss on Sunday.
“Again, when you’re playing South Carolina on their home floor in front of their fans, it’s a road game,” Schaefer said, via Griffin Goodwyn of On3. “You’ve got to be able to respond when they make a run. We just weren’t able to respond in that second quarter.”
The Gamecocks outscored Texas 19-2 to start the second quarter and never trailed again, handing the second-seeded Longhorns (31-3) their first loss since early January and snapping a 15-game win streak. South Carolina (30-3) claimed its ninth SEC Tournament title in 11 years and its third straight under coach Dawn Staley.
Schaefer, whose team struggled against South Carolina’s defensive pressure and shot just 30% for the game, emphasized that the setting gave the Gamecocks a clear advantage.
“It’s the Southeastern Conference — it’s where they’ve chosen to have our tournament,” he said. “To play them basically on their home floor, it makes it that much more difficult.”
While praising the job Greenville does in hosting the tournament, Schaefer suggested that a more balanced rotation of host cities might better serve the student-athlete experience.
“Obviously, Greenville loves having us and does a great job,” he said. “But they’re having a better experience right now than I am.”
Despite the loss, Schaefer credited South Carolina’s defense and effort.
“They make it difficult on the catch; they make it difficult on the shot,” he said. “You have to give coach (Dawn) Staley and her staff and players credit. They play really hard defensively.”
The Gamecocks forced 18 Texas turnovers and held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon led the Longhorns with 14 each.
“We have another big tournament ahead of us and we have to learn from our mistakes. … but this game will haunt us as a team,” Harmon said, as reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
Both Texas and South Carolina women’s basketball are expected to receive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, which begins March 19.
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