Following a significant upset in women’s college basketball. The No. 4 Texas Longhorns have suffered their first loss of the season, falling 70-65 to the No. 6 LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center this Sunday evening. What makes this defeat even more concerning? Coach Kim Mulkey’s Tigers came in as underdogs with a 1-2 record after dropping their opening conference games.
Now, here’s where it gets even more challenging for Texas. They have virtually no time to regroup before facing the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena this Friday—and one of their star players is sounding the alarm.
Booker Issues Challenge to Teammates
In the postgame press conference moments ago, standout forward *Madison Booker* didn’t mince words when discussing her team’s readiness for the upcoming test.
“Coach said it, we’re not ready for Thursday,” Booker stated bluntly. “It’s still gonna come no matter what. We have to get ready, we have to prepare again. We have to at least fix our mistakes, do what we can. We have to fix because South Carolina is a great rebounding team.”
She continued, emphasizing the turnover issues: “Also, turnovers, I mean, just taking care of our ball. I mean, it’s one possession. Today we had many possessions that lost this game.”
Those are sobering words from a team leader, folks.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are riding high after demolishing the Georgia Bulldogs 65-43 on Sunday, improving to 17-1. Their only loss this season? That came against these very same Longhorns back in November at the Players’ Era Festival championship game.
Coach Schaefer Unleashes Frustration at SEC
But wait—there’s more controversy brewing. Texas head coach Vic Schaefer absolutely unloaded on the SEC scheduling during his postgame remarks, suggesting the conference has targeted his program.
“They obviously have a vendetta against Texas because not only have we started in the league, and I get to play South Carolina twice last year, this year, I get LSU twice,” Schaefer said. “I have to play South Carolina on the road this year, as well as LSU. I get them back-to-back in the same week. Now, make that make sense.”
He didn’t stop there: “The league is hard enough as it is, but then to bless me, me and my group with that, it really has a stench to it. I’m really disappointed in the league for putting our kids in that position, but we play whoever’s in front of us.”
Strong words from the Texas coach.
Let me give you some context on this rivalry. Last season, both teams finished with identical conference records and had to settle the No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament with a coin toss. Then, coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina eliminated Texas in the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four—talk about adding fuel to the fire.
This Friday’s matchup just became even more compelling. We’ll be watching closely to see if Texas can regroup in time.
