It had to happen to someone. One team was going to fight to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament only to get the reward of seeing the University of Connecticut as its roadblock to the Final Four. The Texas women’s basketball team ended up as that team Monday night, earning the No. 2 seed in the Huskies’ region.
Uconn, Notre Dame, Baylor and South Carolina all earned No. 1 seeds. Besides Texas, the other No. 2 seeds include Oregon State, Arizona State and Maryland.
The Huskies ended the Longhorns tournament run last season in the Sweet 16, and the two schools could meet up this year in the Elite Eight. Texas cannot dwell on the past or the future – the Longhorns need to focus on what lies directly ahead of them.
Texas drew Alabama State as its first opponent.
The Lady Hornets won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship for the second straight season and earned a No. 15 seed in the tournament for the second straight year as well.
“I’m so excited about playing Texas,†said head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson told bamastatesports.com. “This is a team we never played before so I know we have our work cut out for us.â€
The Longhorns finished the regular season and the Big 12 tournament in second place, behind Baylor. Texas beat six AP Top-25 teams this season, including two ranked in the top-10.
Alabama State closed out its regular-season on a three-game winning streak and added three more victories in the SWAC tournament, putting the Lady Hornets on a six-game winning streak entering the NCAA tournament.
This season the Longhorns earned 28 overall victories, marking the most by a Texas team since the 2003-04 season. The Horns also finished with 15 regular season conference wins, tying the 2002-03 team for the school’s record.
Texas is hosting the first two rounds of the tournament with BYU and Missouri kicking off action on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Longhorns match up against the Lady Hornets follows with a tentative start time of 8 p.m. CT. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
