No. 7 Texas Longhorns survive for win against Ole Miss Rebels – Sports Illustrated

Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer took off his jacket early in the first quarter Sunday afternoon in Oxford, and he had every reason to.

Playing its third game in six days, the last two coming against ranked opponents, Texas understandably looked tired, falling behind early to the Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels were well-rested playing their first game in a week, but in a physical game, Texas battled to the very end, just like their male counterparts against Texas A&M on Saturday.

Ole Miss led by seven in the fourth quarter, but Texas used the Rebels, getting into the bonus early to shoot free throws and would claw their way back into the game, tying the score at 58 with two minutes left thanks to a 13-2 run in the final 4: 45. Madison Booker, whose shooting had been sluggish all night, made a jumper to put Texas ahead with 26 seconds left, showing her toughness. Rory Harmon added a free throw with one second left, and Booker intercepted the final inbounds pass to seal the 61-58 Texas victory.

The Rebels were able to push the Longhorns out of their usual style of play, holding Texas to just eight second-chance points and only turning the ball over six times, the zones Texas used to its advantage.

Booker blew the competition out of the water with her shooting, but today she’s fighting in her home state. She shot just 5-15 from the floor, but fired it up when it counted, finishing with 12 points. However, her efforts remained strong on defense and off the ball, blocking three shots and grabbing seven rebounds.

When other scorers struggled, Taylor Jones did what he does best, getting to the hoop and making his free throws, leading to 12 first-half points while also adding three blocked shots. She would be Texas’ lone offensive bright spot, scoring 24 points.

Point guard Rory Harmon also got back in the scoring column, scoring eight, dishing out seven assists and grabbing two steals. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda started in place of the injured Aaliyah Moore and logged solid minutes, scoring eight points.

Texas trailed Ole Miss by seven points after the first quarter. The Rebels lead wouldn’t last long as the Longhorns would go on a 10-0 run in the second quarter to regain the lead, but the Texas hot shooting would soon turn ice cold. The early run was aided by Schaefer doing something he rarely does: Play zone defense. Texas had previously only played two zone possessions all season, but it was effective early in the second quarter against Ole Miss, a team that likes to drive the lane.

After the Texas Run, Ole Miss completely shifted the game’s momentum and held the Longhorns to 0-7, forcing three turnovers in the final six minutes while using its defense to ignite its offense and come back on top. The Rebels also outscored Texas by taking away second-chance scoring opportunities, an area the Longhorns dominate.

Without Moore, Texas lacked some of its depth around the basket and was thinned with Jones getting into foul trouble early in the third quarter. Both teams ran into foul trouble, each forced to play players with three and four fouls.

While Texas came out stronger in the second half, the Rebels had an answer for everything the Longhorns did. Both Booker and Kayla Oldacre were benched with four fouls, leaving Texas even thinner than it already was heading into the fourth quarter.

Jones and Booker were the only Longhorns to score in double figures and both finished the game with four fouls.

Although nothing seemed to go their way in Texas, the Longhorns went 6-1 in conference play. Texas will now take a much-needed break before returning to the Moody Center to take on Missouri on Thursday.

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