Texas women’s basketball had its first opportunity to play in an exhibition game Monday night against one of the national title favorites, UConn, at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut. The Longhorns kept up with the Huskies through the first half, going into the locker room tied 37-37, but UConn ran away in the second half to secure the victory, 83-61.
Texas had an opportunity to see the team’s dynamic with its incoming freshmen integrating into head coach Vic Schaefer’s system. Freshman guard Addison Bjorn and freshman forward Brihanna Crittendon got to see the most action out of the new faces. Both were in the starting lineup for this game, with Bjorn finishing with eight points and Crittendon with four.
The new faces were not the highlight of Monday night. Fans in Hartford were treated to a matchup between two of the best players in the country, Texas senior forward Madison Booker and UConn junior forward Sarah Strong. Both players respectively led their teams in scoring, Booker with 23 and Strong with 27. Before the game began leaning UConn’s way, the two traded buckets back-and-forth during the second quarter.
“That kid Booker’s hard to guard,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “She’s a WNBA player, she’s an NBA player. She just is that good.”
The difference in this game was the Huskies’ perimeter shooting. Texas is close in most major categories, but shot only about 29% from three-point range tonight compared to UConn’s 56%. Most of that can be credited to UConn freshman guard Jovana Popovic, who did not play like a freshman tonight, with 22 points and going a perfect three for three from the arc.
Both teams went into the game with defensive mindsets as some of the best defenses in the country. As expected with an exhibition game before the season, there were some sloppy moments for both teams, with both having more than 15 turnovers. Texas actually capitalized more of those turnovers with 21 points from them, but the final score does not reflect it.
“I think Geno, he gets a lot of credit for all these great offensive players, but his defense is always, to me, so good,” Schaefer said. “And, for us, that’s a big piece of what we do. And so getting these kids to understand that, play hard, play together, have each other’s back, you know, that sometimes takes a while.”
Schaefer has spoken about his expectations for returning junior guard Bryanna Preston and senior forward Breya Cunningham to step up as leaders behind Booker this season. Preston struggled leading the offense in the first half, and eventually Booker took the ball up for the second half of the second quarter. Preston ended the game with only three points, and shot one for seven from the field tonight.
Cunningham started off the game hot, presenting a dominance down-low that Schaefer has been preaching about in practice. Unfortunately, a familiar problem from last season for Cunningham presented itself, and fouls slowed her down. She ended the game with five personal fouls, but had 11 points and six rebounds.
“The guards have got to do their job,” Schaefer said. “And stop giving up dribble penetration so (Cunningham) ain’t always bailing their butt out.”
Fortunately, this game does not count against the Longhorns’ record and will be used by Schaefer to evaluate his roster and what needs work. After Texas hosts their Orange-White scrimmage on Wednesday, the Longhorns will get a Final Four rematch on Oct. 25 against UCLA in an exhibition game at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
