AUSTIN, Texas — The mood on the University of Texas at Austin campus had been down and out of sorts in the days leading up to Sunday, students said, but the Texas women’s basketball team’s conference tournament win helped lift spirits.
Sunday, the third-seeded and No. 4-ranked Texas Longhorns defeated the top-seeded and No. 3-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC’s women’s basketball tournament championship, marking the first time the Longhorns have accomplished the feat since joining the SEC a year ago.
The win comes at a pivotal time for students on campus.
University of Texas at Austin junior Zoe Burns said: “The vibes have been definitely really sad and very unfortunate, and I think all of us are really struggling in our own ways.” Sophomore Sebastien Basta said, “A lot of people are very concerned. A lot of people feel very uneasy, you know, around campus.”
These were the emotions after students learned that 21-year-old Sevitha Shan was killed in a mass shooting outside Buford’s on West Sixth Street, where other UT students were also injured.
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On Sunday afternoon, Burns and Basta said the energy changed after the Texas women’s basketball team knocked off top-seeded South Carolina to win the program’s first SEC tournament title.
Burns said sports can help bring people together. “It’s an incredible way just to bring people together, lift up the spirit, lift up the mood, and just provide this aspect of positivity,” she said. She added, “I think sports are just a great way to just bring unity, especially among different campuses.”
Basta compared the moment to another time when sports helped lift a community during a crisis. “I’m from Houston, so I remember during Hurricane Harvey, the Astros winning the World Series. It was a big deal, and so it kind of draws some comparisons to what’s going around here on UT,” he said.
Texas women’s basketball head coach Vic Schaefer said after the game that the team is playing with confidence. “I think from a confidence standpoint, right now, our kids are pretty confident. I thought they played like that tonight,” Schaefer said.
As students continue to heal emotionally, Burns and Basta said they are hopeful the Longhorns can make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. “I’m expecting us to bring it home,” Basta said. Burns said, “I definitely think they have everything they need to win.”
The campus could become a little more lively and energetic as the UT men’s basketball team tips off the men’s SEC tournament in Nashville this week.