From the high of taking down No. 18 Iowa State to the low of getting beaten handily by Kansas State, the Texas Women’s Basketball team experienced it all over the past week.
The way the No. 11 Longhorns bounce back with TCU coming to town for a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday will go a long way toward being able to tell where Texas stands so far through Big 12 Conference play.
Head coach Karen Aston put the loss at K-State on an inconsistency in preparation coming off the high of the big win, something she’s tried to put into perspective for her squad this week.
“I thought they showed some responses to the things we asked them to do yesterday and today — which would be either you’re gonna have a pity party and feel sorry, or your gonna respond and try to fix the things you didn’t do well,” she said. “And I was pleased with today.”
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Giving full credit to the Wildcats, Aston acknowledged that the ‘Horns should have been ready to take a knockout punch with Kansas State coming off a disappointing loss the game before as well.
Slowing Down for Bigger Things
As things tighten up during games at times, the Longhorns have gone for the home run play a bit too frequently, a trend that Aston and the squad is still trying to curb even as they connect on some of those electrifying plays, said junior Jada Underwood.
“(We need to) just take everything slower, the home run plays make the crowd excited and it gets us going but sometimes we don’t need them,” Underwood said. “So just slowing down the pace and taking it one step at a time on the court.”
Overall the team has been proving time and again they have what it takes to compete for the Big 12 Championship and more this season, yet the lulls with big leads and the slow stretches that let a team like Kansas State build too big of a lead to surmount as Aston and the ‘Horns checking in on everything they may need to sharpen.
“It’s been a 48 hours of doing a little bit of soul searching and just trying to figure out where we’re getting exposed as a basketball team, and how do we get better,” Aston said. “We’ve been at it trying to get our team to pay attention to the detail of some things and get to a spot where we’re ready to play every time we get out and tip the ball up.”
As a veteran on the team, Underwood hopes the Longhorns also lean into more consistency between and during games.
“I think Kansas State — again they are a really good team and they were at home and they came out ready to play — and I think we just failed to pay attention to the details,” Underwood said. “It’s Big 12 play, anything can happen. Were playing (almost) every other night so I think we just need to focus and be ready for whatever people throw at us.”
Sutton Rising, Freshmen Growing
The play of point guard Sug Sutton is keep Texas’ offense churning while the team searches for more depth and offensive execution.
“We’d been in a world of hurt right now if it wasn’t for Sug being aggressive,” Aston said. “I like her decision making, but we’ve gotta stay the course as far as trying to find balance (offensively).
One key area Aston hopes to hone in on during the next few weeks to find that balance is more consistent play out of her freshmen when things become a struggle, especially Audrey Warren and Charli Collier.
“I’m pleased with where they’re at actually. I think you get the ebb and the flow with freshmen, some days they’re pretty good, some days they look like freshmen but I do think they’re staying the course,” Aston said.
Coming off spectacular high-school careers, the key is for the youngsters to not get disappointed as the growing process progresses.
“They get disappointed sometimes and I’m sure they wish their impact was bigger, but they stay the curse in practice everyday,” Aston said. “I think we’ll start to see them — as we get into the second half of conference play — get their feet on the ground and contribute more than they are now … I do think I’ve got to get Charli Collier in the game more, I’ve got to get her in some action and see what she can do for us.”
Both basketball teams are suiting up to play at home Saturday, with the Women taking the court at 1 p.m. and the Men at 7 p.m. There are photo opportunities and more before both games. Check out the festivities here.
It’s Texas Exes weekend, which means a great deal to Aston and the Texas program, looking to honor those who built the program and keep in mind what they’re playing for, and toward, in the present.
Underwood agreed that this weekend will be a big moment for the program, and the current team.
“Exes weekend allows us to see that we’re playing for something other than ourselves,” she said. “Despite the loss last week and the tough game before that, we’ve just gotta come out and play for the people who have played before us and the whole program.”
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