Habe on the Horns – Karen Aston Has Horns Back on Track

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

Way back in January, when the Texas women’s basketball team was struggling to regain its stride after the loss of its top player to injury and fighting through the juggernaut that’s the Big 12 campaign, there weren’t too many people that gave the Longhorns a chance to make it to the NCAA tournament, much less the second weekend and the Sweet 16.

But Texas coach Karen Aston believed and her players did, too. With two close wins last weekend over Western Kentucky and California in the first two rounds of the NCAAs, the Longhorns have reclaimed their rightful place among the upper echelon of the women’s game.

Texas has won 10 [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]of its past 11 games and seems to be peaking at the most opportune time. And for all their hard work and surging success the Longhorns will have the chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage against the behemoth of women’s basketball – top-ranked and two-time defending national champion UConn.

Texas is making its 12th appearance in a Sweet 16 but the first since the 2003-04 season – a team coached by then-assistant Aston. The Longhorns are playing in the NCAA tournament for the 28th time, including the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Texas’ 28 appearances in the field ranks fourth all-time.

That record pales in comparsion to the UConn team the Longhorns will face Saturday in Albany (11 a.m. Central, ESPN). The Huskies have won 9 NCAA Division I national championships, advanced to 15 Final Fours, and captured 41 Big East/AAC regular season and tournament championships.

Aston said her team understands that they are not expected to win and embraces its underdog status

“We have been playing some pretty good basketball and we believe we can win – we have to believe,” Aston said Thursday. “No one outside this building gives us a chance – and UConn is playing some great basketball – but that’s why you play the game.”

In order to have any chance against the Huskies, Texas will need to get a huge effort from All-Big 12 First Team center Imani McGee-Stafford, who has five double-doubles in the month of March (last seven games), including four consecutive.

McGee-Stafford  averages 15.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game and has shot .500 from the field or better in each game this March, totaling a .614 field goal percentage.

She began NCAA tournament play with back-to-back 20-point performances in Berkeley: 24 points (10-13 FG) and 15 rebounds in 30 minutes against Western Kentucky, and 20 points (7-10 FG) and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes against California.

“We are working on what our legacy should be,” McGee-Stafford said. “. We’ve already accomplished a lot. Win or lose, if we give our best we will be able to say we’ve done all we can. We expected to be here but we’ve had to work to get to this point.

Entering Saturday’s game against No. 1-seed UConn, Texas is 2-8 against top seeds in the NCAA Championship. UT’s two victories over No. 1 seeds came against USC in the 1986 title game and LSU in the 2003 regional final.

Texas and Connecticut will meet for the sixth time in program history on Saturday. UConn leads the all-time series, 5-0. It will be the third time Texas and UConn face in NCAA tournament competition. The Huskies have been a No. 1 seed in all three meetings.

“It will take a great effort and you just can’t take a play off if you are going to have any chance against them,” Aston added. “We are in the Sweet 16 so we are excited. We’ve seen so many good teams that play so many different ways that we should be prepared for what we will see from UConn.”

Back then in January, this reporter predicted that the Longhorns would make it to the Elite Eight, but I didn’t know Texas would have to play UConn to get there. Expect the Horns to put up a great fight but fall to the Huskies, who are all but unstoppable right now.

However the game goes, the 2014-15 campaign should be considered a huge step forward for the Longhorns program. And that bodes well for the future.

Just sayin’, ya’ know?

[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]