Madison Booker and top-seeded Texas outlast SEC rival Tennessee 67-59 to reach Elite Eight

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Texas coach Vic Schaefer got the tense battle he expected between his defensive-minded Longhorns and the highest-scoring team in the country in Tennessee.

In the end, the Longhorns edged their Southeastern Conference foe with the same approach they've had all season — relying on swarming defense and the shot-making of SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker.

Top-seeded Texas got 17 points from Booker and outlasted the fifth-seeded Lady Volunteers 67-59 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.

''We've been in these battles enough,'' Schaefer said. ''We know what it takes. When you're tired or maybe in that moment of the last four or five minutes, that's when you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your fundamentals.''

Jordan Lee scored 13 points and Taylor Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns (34-3), who advanced to face TCU in the Elite Eight. The Horned Frogs beat Notre Dame earlier Saturday to reach the first regional final in school history.

Booker scored seven points in the fourth quarter, including four straight with the game tied at 54 with five minutes left. Tennessee pulled back within one on a jumper by Ruby Whitehorn, who led the Lady Vols (24-10) with 16 points, before the Longhorns stretched their lead to eight.

That was Texas' biggest advantage of the day, with Tennessee matching the Longhorns' biggest strengths: defense, rebounding and post play. The Lady Vols outrebounded the Longhorns 39-36, had 15 second-chance points to Texas' five and got 36 points in the paint.

''I was proud of how hard we played,'' said Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell, who brought new energy to the Lady Vols program in her first season, during which she gave birth to a son. ''A big point of emphasis was rebounding, and we did what we needed to there. They just did such a great job of rushing us into shots and forcing some turnovers down the stretch when we needed to get some shots off.''

Bryanna Preston added 12 points and four assists for Texas, which got 40 points in the post.

Zee Spearman had 13 points for the Lady Vols, who continued their run as the only school to appear in every Division I women's tournament with their 43rd straight appearance.

Tennessee outscored Texas 17-13 in the second with Booker sitting on the bench much of the quarter after picking up two early fouls. Still, the Longhorns held a 34-30 edge at the half.

Despite what Schaefer said wasn't his team's best day, the Longhorns locked down on defense down the stretch against Tennessee's potent offense, which averages 87.5 points per game.

''We didn't want it to be the last time we did it,'' said Texas senior guard Rori Harmon, who finished with eight points. ''We talked about accountability and leadership. ... We were over here grabbing each other by our jerseys and telling (each other), ‘You can't let this happen, you can't let this happen.' I think it was just collectively, we all just wanted it so bad.''

Texas held Tennessee to nine points in the fourth, forced four Tennessee turnovers over the final five minutes and held the Lady Vols to no makes on their final five shots.

Full service

Late in the third, Spearman lost her shoe in the middle of a play. Guard Sara Puckett picked up Spearman's footwear, handed it off to her teammate in transition and chased down Jones for a block on the other end of the floor.

SEC's best

The Longhorns improved to 18-2 against Southeastern Conference opponents, including an 80-76 win over Tennessee during the regular season.

''Our league is a monster,'' Schaefer said. ''I mean, it's just a nightmare of a league. That's the thing, y'all. You go to the NCAA Tournament and you think, ‘Oh, thank goodness. We can see somebody else.' No, I get to play two games and then all of the sudden I gotta play Tennessee. Give me a break.

''But that's our league. There are just so many great teams, they are all well-coached, and so many great players. I walk out and I look at Tennessee and it's like looking at a WNBA team. They've got size at guard, size at 5, size everywhere. Athleticism, quickness all over the floor. It ain't much fun.''

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