Nicole Graves (left) and John Graves wear shirts representing their daughters Rebekah Graves, who plays for Louisville, and Sarah Graves, who plays for Texas, at Sweet 16 games in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Lawrence Dow
ldow@star-telegram.com
FORT WORTH
Nicole Graves is having a weekend most parents dream of.
She’s watching her daughters, Sarah and Rebekah, live out their athletic dreams, playing for Texas and Louisville in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Dickies Arena, right near where they grew up in Keller.
Graves and her family traveled back and forth from Austin to Kentucky in the first two rounds to attend each daughter’s games, but she said she was a little nervous to have them end up in the same bracket.
“At first I was really like, no, I don’t want them to play each other,” Nicole Graves said. “As a mom, like, how do you both win when they play each other? But now, after the last week, I’m like, thank God they’re both together.”
The Graves family won’t have to have divided loyalty in Monday’s Elite Eight game. Redshirt freshman guard Rebekah Graves and No. 3-seeded Louisville lost to No. 2 Michigan 71-52 in Saturday’s first Sweet 16 game. Senior guard Sarah Graves and No. 1 Texas defeated No. 5 Kentucky 76-54.
The Longhorns (34-3) will play the Wolverines (28-6) for a berth in the Final Four at 6 p.m. Monday at Dickies.
Texas guard Sarah Graves reacts during the fourth quarter against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Elsa Getty Images Not a basketball family — at first
Sarah Graves was the first of the sisters to get into basketball, and her mother remembers initially wondering if this new hobby would stick around.
“When Sarah decided she fell in love with the game of basketball, she realized she was really far behind,” Nicole Graves said. “My husband [John] and I did not play basketball at all, and so she didn’t grow up playing basketball, [but] she fell in love with it.
“She started calculating, OK, I need to spend this many hours in the gym. I need to start learning these drills, and she, like, wrote her own little playbook. I think when she started, it kind of inspired her younger sister and so they just both got really into it, and from that moment on, she never, never once looked back.”
John and Nicole Graves wore shirts with each daughter’s number and team on it Saturday. Nicole talked about what it was like to see her daughters have this moment.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “First of all, for both my girls to be at two incredible schools. I mean, University of Texas, University of Louisville, incredible schools, incredible coaches, incredible teams, and fans have supported and loved them so well. So right there, I’m just so thankful for that.
“And then you see all the behind work, right? They don’t get to play a lot. There’s not a lot of events for that, so to get to see them do this together is something. I mean, I keep saying, literally only God can write this kind of story. I can’t give any other credit. Yes, they’ve worked hard, but only God could do this.”
Rebekah averaged 1.7 points in 17 games this season. She got onto the court in the final minute of Saturday’s loss.
Texas guard Sarah Graves celebrates after making a technical free throw against Kentucky during the final minute of the fourth quarter in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Elsa Getty Images Sarah Graves gets moment at free-throw line
Sarah averaged 1.4 points in 18 games this season. She also got in her game in the final minute to a roar of applause from fans, which got even louder when she was chosen to take a pair of technical free throws and made both.
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer talked about giving Graves that moment in front of family and friends.
“She’s just a special kid,” Schaefer said. “And you know, our team, I actually asked another player to shoot the free throws, and she pointed to Sarah. She said, ‘Coach, let her shoot,’ and you know, that’s the kind of team I have. I just, I got a great group of kids.”
Nicole Graves knows the hard work behind the scenes and the trials and tribulations that went into both of her daughters getting to this moment with two of the best college basketball programs in the country.
“They both had to press through really hard hardships,” she said. “Rebekah tore her Achilles, and Sarah had a stress fracture her sophomore year. So they both had to really work through those, like not getting minutes, having injuries, and still showing up with joy, with thanksgiving, pride in what they’re doing, helping their teammates in the middle of their setbacks. Watching them press through it’s been hard, and so I’m so incredibly proud of both of them sticking with it.”
The Graves sisters are close. Sarah, when asked if she was ever annoyed by her little sister tagging along, said they were basically twins. Nicole Graves agreed.
“That’s been so fun,” she said. “One of my favorite pictures is them. It was one of their last games they played together in a playoff game [in high school], and they’re both guarding someone. They weren’t going against each other. They were together, going for these girls, and so there were so many times watching them play, where they feed each other, and it was just beautiful to watch as a parent. And so also a lot easier when you’re on the same team, like they win together. This is gonna be a little different. But I love that. I love their relationship.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 3:13 PM.
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Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.