The Longhorns were outscored 20-9 in a decisive third quarter as Dawn Staley continued her dominance of Vic Schaefer.
The breakthrough will have to wait.
Vic Schaefer dropped to 0-8 against Dawn Staley in the postseason with a third NCAA Tournament loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four on Friday in Tampa as the Texas Longhorns got off to a fast start but quickly fizzled, especially in the decisive 20-9 third quarter of the 74-57 loss.
South Carolina raced out to a 7-2 start out of halftime to open up an eight-point lead from which Texas could not recover thanks to Schaefer’s offensive approach as the last-place team in Division 1 women’s basketball in three-point rate.
Unwilling or unable to space the court, the Longhorns were forced to operate in a phone booth in the paint, allowing the Gamecocks to commit most of their defenders to keeping Texas from being able to score around the basket.
South Carolina finished with a 40-22 advantage in points in the paint with the help of some outside shooting to keep Texas from collapsing defensively, producing a plus-12 margin on made three-pointers by hitting seven compared to three for the Horns.
The transition game heavily favored the Gamecocks despite a similar number of turnovers committed by both teams with South Carolina scoring 15 points in transition compared to just three for Texas.
Texas sophomore forward Madison Booker scored six of her 11 points in the first five minutes of the game before battling foul trouble, committing three fouls before halftime for the first time in her career. She didn’t commit any in the second half, but it didn’t matter because the Longhorns couldn’t get easy baskets in the congestion around the basket and 3-of-7 shooting from three by freshman guard Jordan Lee wasn’t enough to keep it close, either.
Texas got off to a strong start, taking a 10-2 lead with 6:37 remaining in the first quarter on a jumper by senior point guard Rori Harmon followed by a jumper from Booker in a 3-of-3 shooting start, but the SEC Player of the Year was called for a poor blocking foul with plenty of time to establish position and then went to the bench with her second foul 21 seconds later for bumping a dribbler in transition, a significant blow for Texas.
The foul on the Longhorns helped the Gamecocks avoid separation by making five free throws, several layups when South Carolina got into the paint, and a three by MiLaysia Fulwiley.
A final layup by the Gamecocks cut the deficit to 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
With the level of contact in the paint increasing with Texas forward Kyla Oldacre taking a hard fall trying to get a shot up and facing a double team trying to establish post position, South Carolina hit a deep three to which Longhorns guard Jordan Lee responded with a three of her own.
Schaefer went to an unusual lineup with Oldacre and senior forward Taylor Jones in the game together, a lineup combination that had played only three minutes together entering the contest.
It didn’t necessarily work thanks to those spacing issues — Jones only managed five shot attempts in 24 minutes, scoring four points, and Oldacre scoring four points in 17 minutes while committing three turnovers.
Lee showed off some nifty footwork near the paint for a banked shot and then hit a mid-range jumper on a catch-and-shoot opportunity to keep South Carolina from opening up its first significant lead of the game as Booker was able to make her return with 5:01 remaining in the second quarter.
About two minutes later, Booker took a rushed three in transition and wasn’t able to get back, having to allow an uncontested layup six seconds later and then committed her third foul 30 seconds after that when she carelessly crashed into a South Carolina player on the wing as the Gamecocks tried to push the pace.
The inability of Texas to control the South Carolina fast break was a central storyline late in the first half as the Gamecocks went on a 9-1 run after Booker’s missed three. Two free throws by the Longhorns before the halftime buzzer limited the damage to a 38-35 deficit at the break, but an 11-0 advantage by Staley’s team in transition was a concerning development for Texas and resulted from some questionable shot selection and court balance and that lightning-quick ability of South Carolina to take advantage of fast-break opportunities.
When the Gamecocks went on the run out of halftime, the game never felt close after that because the Longhorns are the most poorly-constructed team in the country to recover from a deficit, especially against an elite opponent.
That reality could maintain the hard ceiling on Schaefer’s coaching career unless he’s willing to make adjustments.
