Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) and forward Madison Booker (35) leave the court during a timeout in the NCAA Final Four game against UCLA at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday, April 3, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
PHOENIX — Texas women’s basketball picked a bad time to turn it its worst shooting performance of the season, though the Longhorns’ defense kept things interesting even late in Friday night’s 51-44 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. Texas All-American Madison Booker missed 17 of her first 18 shots and the Bruins made a big defensive play in the final minute to seal their place in Sunday’s championship game.
MORE CED: No. 1 Texas falls flat in humbling Final Four loss to UCLA
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There was a lot not to like in this one for Texas. But the Longhorns weren’t without their positives. Here are three things I saw that I liked and three things I didn’t like in Texas’ loss:
Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) rolls her ankle and falls while pushing past UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the NCAA Final Four game at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday, April 3, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Three things I liked from Texas
The Texas defense came to play
If someone told a Texas fan that the Longhorns were going to hold UCLA to 51 points while forcing 23 turnovers, the assumption would be that it’s time to play for a national championship. But the Longhorns couldn’t take advantage.
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What an offensive nightmare. This one will sting for a while.
Texas fight on an otherwise bad night
It was easily their worst game of the season, but the Longhorns scrapped and clawed their way back to within three points with 30 seconds left. It wasn’t their night, but the loss wasn’t from a lack of effort.
The hug that said everything
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer and star point guard Rori Harmon shared a long embrace as the final seconds ticked down. Their basketball journey came to an end one game too early, but this moment was sports at its finest. These two helped build the Horns into a national championship contender over five years together and it’s something to be proud of.
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UCLA players celebrate after defeating the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Final Four game at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday, April 3, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Three things I didn’t like from Texas
How Madison Booker was used
Schaefer knows his best player better than anybody, but Madison Booker could have used a quick blow in the first half as the misses started piling up. He didn’t take her out until three minutes remained in the third quarter. Sometimes it’s good to watch for a minute and she could have used that mental break in the early going.Â
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Schaefer then kept her on the bench for the start of the fourth quarter when she was presumably well rested. The Bruins reeled off seven straight points to take a 10-point lead.
Not playing Justice Carlton more
On a night when Booker could not hit the side of a barn, Justice Carlton played only 14 minutes. Schaefer gave her an earful after she missed a defensive assignment in the fourth quarter, but he could have used her more on the offensive end. Her five straight points, including a tough bucket over 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts, got Texas back in the game in the second quarter.
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Yes, Schaefer is a defensive mind, but on this night he could have used her offense more.
The whole day of basketball
The NCAA Tournament’s top four seeds didn’t deliver great basketball after all getting here by blowing out the competition. South Carolina-UConn was a real clunker for basketball purists and so was Texas-UCLA.
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Hopefully Sunday’s title game between South Carolina and UCLA will deliver some quality hoops.