Six months after the pain of last spring, Texas women’s basketball finally got the kind of response it was looking for.
The Longhorns, with senior forward Madison Booker leading the way, met UCLA again and turned the rematch into an emphatic 81-64 exhibition win at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. For a team that had managed only 44 points in the Final Four matchup a season ago, this was a very different night.
Texas came out aggressive and efficient, scoring from multiple spots on the floor and putting together a much cleaner offensive showing than it did in Connecticut. The Longhorns knocked down 9 of 19 shots from three-point range, a sharp jump from their previous exhibition against UConn, when they attempted only seven threes and made two.
Booker set the tone with 21 points, going 7-for-13 from the field and 2-for-2 from deep. Midway through the third quarter, she got a favorable bounce on a fadeaway jumper and then celebrated after a timeout, clearly enjoying the moment. After last year’s 3-for-23 outing in the season-ending loss, this was the kind of performance that felt like a personal reset.
“They’re a good team. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got the dub, especially coming off a loss to UConn last week,” Booker said. “But no, this win for us just gives the whole team just a confidence booster.”
UCLA junior guard Elina Aarnisalo said the Bruins were trying to account for Texas’ physicality and limit the easy looks, but that plan still left openings.
“They’re a big physical team, so coming into the game, we think that’s their strength,” Aarnisalo said. “And that’s what they’re looking for. So we were trying to focus on that, try to take away those pull-ups, those easier shots for them, which opened up some threes for them that they were hitting today.”
Bryanna Preston also made a big leap from Texas’ first exhibition. After scoring just three points against UConn, the junior guard poured in 20 against UCLA and did it with an 80% clip from three. That kind of showing gave head coach Vic Schaefer more reason to trust her at point guard.
“Seeing the efficiency I can bring for my team this early, it builds a lot of confidence because it just means that I can keep getting better from here,” Preston said. “This is a good starting point.
I know what works. I know what I have to work on.”
Texas still has one more tune-up before the games start counting for real, with an exhibition against Eastern New Mexico set for Thursday at the Moody Center.
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