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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Vic Schaefer, a Texas man through and through, is a man of many words. They’re more often than not a creative combination of them to relay his point.
“The minute that ball goes through, she’s on you-know-what like stink on you-know-what.”
“If you're going to play H-O-R-S-E with them, you're gonna get beat.”
Then there’s a rather basic, cut-to-the-point single thing by which he lives.
“Play defense,” Madison Booker said. “That’s the name of the game for him is defense. Defense wins games.”
It’s also what draws scrutiny. Texas lost just three games all season and secured a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed, but all the program heard was that its offense was anemic and the defense wouldn’t win them games when the number of teams thinned.
The players Schaefer individually guided up a ladder at Legacy Arena on Monday night would disagree. It was defense that led Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda up to cut a piece of the net with confetti stuffed in each of her socks. It was defense that lifted center Kyla Oldacre to a rare on-court smile — “probably a slip-up,” she insisted.
The Texas Longhorns defense shut down Hailey Van Lith and the TCU Horned Frogs on Monday night. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It was definitely defense that sent senior point guard Rori Harmon to her first Final Four after upsets and injury derailed her long ride to the Elite Eight. She folded in emotion as time ticked off and Texas fans greeted her with chants of “Rori” as the celebration for the program’s first Final Four since 2003 began.
It is Harmon who Schaefer praises consistently for defense, causing problems a full 94-feet. Horned Frogs point guard Hailey Van Lith was no exception.
Harmon made everything difficult from inbound to finish, keeping Van Lith from driving and forcing TCU deep into actions. Van Lith didn’t score her first basket until three minutes into the second quarter when Harmon hit the bench for a one-minute rest. She went 3-of-15 in her final college game before entering the WNBA Draft. The majority of her 17 points were off a 10-of-11 day at the line. Her seven turnovers were a season high.
“Van Lith, I promise you, you ask her what gum she’s chewing, [Harmon will] be able to tell you,” Schaefer said.
Texas couldn’t afford to go bucket-for-bucket with the Horned Frogs, which entered the game as one of the most efficient offenses and the best 3-point shooting squad. And they didn’t.
“The goal was [to] make them make a tough shot, make them make the spectacular,” Schaefer said.
The defense locked in from the jump, forcing TCU a five-second violation within the first 40 seconds and continued to stack them. They frustrated shooters, but even when Van Lith found the open player or the Frogs began to spring their star guard free enough from Harmon’s grasps, TCU couldn’t convert, shooting 26.7% overall (20% from 3). It was the third time TCU scored 50 or fewer all season. The only other times were to South Carolina.
Oldacre and Taylor Jones neutralized 6-foot-7 center Sedona Prince, who fouled out of her final collegiate game with 6:32 to play and Texas leading by 10. She had four points on four field goal attempts.
“All credit to the Texas bigs,” Prince said. “Taylor Jones is a heck of a player, and they scouted me very well, I'm sure, and they played me very well.”
Jones blocked Prince within the first two minutes and added two more, plus another on reserve Deasia Merrill. Shay Holle and Oldacre added a block each. Six players notched steals, led by Harmon, Booker and Oldacre at two each.
The critics aren’t entirely wrong about Texas. The Longhorns offense is ranked top 25, but it can take a while to come along. Texas allowed a 7-0 run to end the first half, capped by a Van Lith fadeaway, but Schaefer wasn’t as concerned.
“I'm like, guys, really, defense ain't our problem,” Schaefer said. “We missed a bunch of shots [the] first half I thought were good looks. We just missed those shots.”
And sometimes that means it’s piecemeal, as was the case in the Elite Eight.
Madison Booker had to come alive for 18 points, 14 of which were in the second half so she could laugh at her coach circling his notes and stats before his post-game opening statement. Harmon scored seven in the first quarter and hit a closing bucket to quell a TCU comeback so she could take a “selfish” second to herself thinking of all she’d been through to dance with the pep band.
Each player descended the ladder they were finally able to climb with Schaefer waiting for them, words ready to be delivered about their contribution. It probably came heavily on the defensive side of the ball, the difference that sent the Longhorns to Tampa in an attempt to win the program’s second national championship.
As the players dispersed on the confetti-filled court to families and friends, the coaching staff began its turns cutting pieces of the net before Schaefer could take the final one and wear it around his neck the rest of the night. Zack Zillner, the sports performance coach, embraced him with a “good job coach.”
This time, Schaefer kept the answer brief.
“Two more to get.”
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“The minute that ball goes through, she’s on you-know-what like stink on you-know-what.”
“If you're going to play H-O-R-S-E with them, you're gonna get beat.”
Then there’s a rather basic, cut-to-the-point single thing by which he lives.
“Play defense,” Madison Booker said. “That’s the name of the game for him is defense. Defense wins games.”
It’s also what draws scrutiny. Texas lost just three games all season and secured a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed, but all the program heard was that its offense was anemic and the defense wouldn’t win them games when the number of teams thinned.
The players Schaefer individually guided up a ladder at Legacy Arena on Monday night would disagree. It was defense that led Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda up to cut a piece of the net with confetti stuffed in each of her socks. It was defense that lifted center Kyla Oldacre to a rare on-court smile — “probably a slip-up,” she insisted.
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The Texas Longhorns defense shut down Hailey Van Lith and the TCU Horned Frogs on Monday night. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It was definitely defense that sent senior point guard Rori Harmon to her first Final Four after upsets and injury derailed her long ride to the Elite Eight. She folded in emotion as time ticked off and Texas fans greeted her with chants of “Rori” as the celebration for the program’s first Final Four since 2003 began.
It is Harmon who Schaefer praises consistently for defense, causing problems a full 94-feet. Horned Frogs point guard Hailey Van Lith was no exception.
Harmon made everything difficult from inbound to finish, keeping Van Lith from driving and forcing TCU deep into actions. Van Lith didn’t score her first basket until three minutes into the second quarter when Harmon hit the bench for a one-minute rest. She went 3-of-15 in her final college game before entering the WNBA Draft. The majority of her 17 points were off a 10-of-11 day at the line. Her seven turnovers were a season high.
“Van Lith, I promise you, you ask her what gum she’s chewing, [Harmon will] be able to tell you,” Schaefer said.
Texas couldn’t afford to go bucket-for-bucket with the Horned Frogs, which entered the game as one of the most efficient offenses and the best 3-point shooting squad. And they didn’t.
“The goal was [to] make them make a tough shot, make them make the spectacular,” Schaefer said.
The defense locked in from the jump, forcing TCU a five-second violation within the first 40 seconds and continued to stack them. They frustrated shooters, but even when Van Lith found the open player or the Frogs began to spring their star guard free enough from Harmon’s grasps, TCU couldn’t convert, shooting 26.7% overall (20% from 3). It was the third time TCU scored 50 or fewer all season. The only other times were to South Carolina.
Oldacre and Taylor Jones neutralized 6-foot-7 center Sedona Prince, who fouled out of her final collegiate game with 6:32 to play and Texas leading by 10. She had four points on four field goal attempts.
“All credit to the Texas bigs,” Prince said. “Taylor Jones is a heck of a player, and they scouted me very well, I'm sure, and they played me very well.”
Jones blocked Prince within the first two minutes and added two more, plus another on reserve Deasia Merrill. Shay Holle and Oldacre added a block each. Six players notched steals, led by Harmon, Booker and Oldacre at two each.
The critics aren’t entirely wrong about Texas. The Longhorns offense is ranked top 25, but it can take a while to come along. Texas allowed a 7-0 run to end the first half, capped by a Van Lith fadeaway, but Schaefer wasn’t as concerned.
“I'm like, guys, really, defense ain't our problem,” Schaefer said. “We missed a bunch of shots [the] first half I thought were good looks. We just missed those shots.”
And sometimes that means it’s piecemeal, as was the case in the Elite Eight.
Madison Booker had to come alive for 18 points, 14 of which were in the second half so she could laugh at her coach circling his notes and stats before his post-game opening statement. Harmon scored seven in the first quarter and hit a closing bucket to quell a TCU comeback so she could take a “selfish” second to herself thinking of all she’d been through to dance with the pep band.
Each player descended the ladder they were finally able to climb with Schaefer waiting for them, words ready to be delivered about their contribution. It probably came heavily on the defensive side of the ball, the difference that sent the Longhorns to Tampa in an attempt to win the program’s second national championship.
As the players dispersed on the confetti-filled court to families and friends, the coaching staff began its turns cutting pieces of the net before Schaefer could take the final one and wear it around his neck the rest of the night. Zack Zillner, the sports performance coach, embraced him with a “good job coach.”
This time, Schaefer kept the answer brief.
“Two more to get.”
Continue reading...
