No. 4 Texas pulled off a 66-62 upset win over No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday, handing the Gamecocks their first conference loss this season and snapping their 57-game SEC win streak. The last SEC loss for Dawn Staley’s squad came on Dec. 31, 2021, when Missouri gutted out a 70-69 overtime win.
Texas, although a top-five team, came into the game with an underdog mentality. On Jan. 12, the Gamecocks defeated the Longhorns 67-50 and held star forward Madison Booker to only seven points.
Booker, who led all scorers with 20 points in Sunday’s win, credited the strong mindset of her team for the win in front of a sold-out crowd at Moody Center.
“It’s a mental game,” Booker said when asked how Texas stopped a South Carolina push with 10 seconds left in the game. “It’s a mental game, that’s all I got to say.”
The will to win manifested in the Texas defense, which held South Carolina to 26% shooting from the floor in the first half. However, defense wasn’t the only contributing factor.
Here are the three keys that led to Texas’ big win.
Smothering defense
The Longhorns were determined to set the tone early. They attacked South Carolina early and often. Despite having slightly more turnovers (13-10), Texas converted off its opponents’ mistakes for 13 points. Additionally, Texas dominated inside, scoring 40 points in the paint compared to South Carolina’s 26.
Combined, that resulted in a clunky offense for the Gamecocks as the 2024 NCAA champions scored well below their 81 points per game. The Gamecocks did a better job stretching the Longhorns defense in the second half, but neglected to make them pay, shooting just 26% from 3-point range.
Had South Carolina knocked down just two more 3-pointers, the game could’ve swung in its favor. Instead, the anemic perimeter shooting proved costly and the Gamecocks never led in the game.
Quick whistles
South Carolina’s struggles to get a rhythm was exacerbated by stingy officiating, which led to the first free throw within the first two seconds of the game. There were 44 free throws taken between the top-five ranked teams, with Texas narrowly winning the free throw battle by 1.5 percentage points.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley did not mince words regarding the officiating in her on-air interview after the first quarter.
“People are here to see the players play … we’re not going to adjust, ’cause this is the way we play,” Staley on the broadcast.
Staley and Texas coach Vic Schaefer were noticeably vocal throughout the game. South Carolina starter Te-Hina Paopao received two early fouls, limiting her to 10 first-half minutes Sania Feagin, Bree Hall and MiLaysia Fulwiley all recorded at least three fouls compared to only two Texas players with three-plus fouls.
“Toughness”
As Booker noted in her postgame interview, Texas had the right mentality to grind out a significant win, and nobody embodied that more than the 6-foot-1 sophomore. Booker ended the afternoon with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Longhorns.
“They’re a great team,” Booker said of South Carolina. “We won all the battles, so I think that’s how we got the dub.”
Texas forced South Carolina to play its tempo. Despite South Carolina winning the fastbreak scoring battle 13-5, the Longhorns slowed down the Gamecocks enough to keep the nation’s No. 2-ranked team from ever leading in the ball game. Although it wasn’t the prettiest, most fluid win, Texas won where it mattered.
“Toughness,” Booker said. “Last time, we got out-toughed. This time we out-toughed them.”
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