Former Keller standout Sarah Graves cuts down the net after Texas beat Michigan in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Monday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Stacy Revere
Getty Images
FORT WORTH
Senior Sarah Graves and Texas women’s basketball are headed back to their second straight Final Four after a 77-41 win over Michigan in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Monday at Dickies Arena.
Graves is no stranger to the arena, as she grew up 25 minutes from the stadium and had her Keller High School graduation in the venue. The weekend was even more special for her family because her younger sister Rebekah Graves also played in the Sweet 16 at Dickies, with Louisville against Michigan.
After Monday’s victory, Sarah Graves reflected on winning one of the biggest games of her career in her hometown in front of family, friends and former coaches.
“I’m at a loss for words, that’s the problem,” she said. “I mean, I almost started crying on the court again, because looking around me … hearing everybody cheering your name, is a surreal feeling that I’ll never forget. I mean, I’m so, so blessed. I did nothing to deserve it, so I’m just grateful.”
Keller girls basketball coach Kate Goldberg shared a moment with her former star before the game and previously had gushed about her work ethic and mentality.
“Kate Goldberg came up and gave me a hug before the game, and I almost started crying seeing her for the first time because I haven’t seen her in four years,” Graves said. “College basketball is so hard, it demands so much time, and so to see people that I haven’t seen in four years come out and support me, give them hugs, means the world.”
Though Graves doesn’t play much, she is a fan favorite. When a poster at the game was shown on the jumbotron with the message “Put Sarah In,” cheers erupted all over the arena, which were eclipsed by “We want Sarah” chants.
Then the crowd really erupted when Graves entered the game with a little over two minutes remaining.
“It’s awesome because they’re family, and I’m cheering back for them, like I go over there and take pictures with them and giving them hugs, introducing myself,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m any different from them. Honestly, they probably relate more to me than any of our star All-Americans, so they’re family.”
Graves gave fans more to cheer for when she hit a jumper with 19 seconds left after pump-faking a defender and sidestepping into an open shot.
“I think that I finally made the scouting report,” Graves joked. “They were chasing me really hard off the screens. I think that I pump-fakec someone else, and I had another person flying at me. So I think Sarah Graves might have made the scouting report. It might be at first, but yeah, I wasn’t really thinking about the shot. I was thinking about, if I get an open shot, I’m gonna shoot it.”
Texas guards Sarah Graves (left) and Bryanna Preston celebrate on the bench in the fourth quarter against Michigan in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Monday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Elsa Getty Images
Graves hit two technical free throws in Texas’ Sweet 16 win over Kentucky, and she thought that might’ve been her only opportunity to see the floor while in Fort Worth.
“I told my teammates that I would owe them dinner if they went up 30, and they did the job,” she said. “That’s why I was going so crazy on the bench, because I knew I’d get another shot at it. So yeah, I thought the free throws was going to be it. But they’re so talented and they’re so amazing, that I got blessed with another opportunity.”
Graves and Texas will play fellow top seed UCLA in the Final Four, looking to win the program’s first NCAA title since 1986 when the Longhorns were members of the Southwest Conference.
Game schedule dates, times, locations March 21 L.A. Clippers 138, Mavericks 131 (OT) March 23 Golden State 137, Mavericks 131 (OT) March 25 Denver 142, Mavericks 135 March 27 Mavericks 100, Portland 93 March 30 Minnesota 124, Mavericks 94 March 31 at Milwaukee, 7 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 3 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 5 vs. L.A. Lakers, 6:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock April 7 at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 8 at Phoenix, 9 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 7 TCU 73, Cincinnati 63 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 11 No. 6 TCU 95, No. 14 Oklahoma State 88 (second round) March 12 No. 3 Kansas 78, No. 6 TCU 73 (quarterfinals) NCAA Tournament (at Greenville, S.C.) March 19 No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64 (first round) March 21 No. 1 Duke 81, No. 9 TCU 58 (second round) March 1 TCU 65, Baylor 53 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 6 No. 1 TCU 63, No. 9 BYU 46 (quarterfinals) March 7 No. 1 TCU 74, No. 12 Kansas State 62 (semifinals) March 8 No. 2 West Virginia 62, No. 1 TCU 53 (championship) NCAA Tournament Opening rounds (at Schollmaier Arena) March 20 No. 3 TCU 86, No. 14 UC San Diego 40 (first round) March 22 No. 3 TCU 62, No. 6 Washington 59 (OT) (second round) Sacramento Regional March 28 No. 3 TCU 79, No. 10 Virginia 69 (Sweet 16) March 30 No. 1 South Carolina 78, No. 3 TCU 52 (Elite Eight) March 26 Philadelphia 5, Rangers 3 March 28 Rangers 5, Philadelphia 4 (10 innings) March 29 Rangers 8, Philadelphia 3 March 30 Rangers 5, Baltimore 2 March 31 at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m., RSN April 1 at Baltimore, 11:35 a.m., RSN April 3 vs. Cincinnati, 3:05 p.m., RSN April 4 vs. Cincinnati, 6:05 p.m., RSN April 5 vs. Cincinnati, 1:35 p.m., RSN March 20 Central Florida 18, TCU 7 March 21 TCU 6, Central Florida 0 March 22 Central Florida 9, TCU 1 March 24 TCU 11, Dallas Baptist 5 March 27 TCU 18, Texas Tech 8 (7 innings) March 28 TCU 10, Texas Tech 9 (13 innings) March 29 TCU 5, Texas Tech 4 March 31 vs. Lamar, 6 p.m., ESPN+ April 3 at Kansas State, 6 p.m., ESPN+ April 4 at Kansas State, 4 p.m., ESPN+ April 5 at Kansas State, 1 p.m., ESPN+ April 7 at Abilene Christian, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 22 Vegas 3, Stars 2 March 24 New Jersey 6, Stars 4 March 26 N.Y. Islanders 2, Stars 1 March 28 Stars 6, Pittsburgh 3 March 29 Philadelphia 2, Stars 1 (OT) March 31 at Boston, 6 p.m., Fox, Victory+ April 2 vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m., Victory+ April 4 vs. Colorado, 2 p.m., ABC April 7 vs. Calgary, 7 p.m., Victory+ April 9 vs. Minnesota, 8 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 7 at Arizona, TBA Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 28 at Texas Tech, TBA 2026 season TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA 2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio) vs. N.Y Giants vs. Philadelphia vs. Washington vs. Arizona vs. San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay vs. Jacksonville vs. Tennessee vs. Baltimore at N.Y Giants at Philadelphia at Washington at L.A. Rams at Seattle at Green Bay at Houston at Indianapolis Feb. 21 FC Dallas 3, Toronto 2 Feb. 28 FC Dallas 0, Nashville 0 March 7 LAFC 1, FC Dallas 0 March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3 March 21 FC Dallas 4, Houston 3 April 4 at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 18 vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 NASCAR Racing Experience April 18 Team Texas-David Starr’s Racing School April 18 Bubble Run April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet April 25 FuelFest April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250 May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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.