Everything Texas head WBB coach Vic Schaefer said after win over South Carolina

Texas head coach Vic Schaefer spoke to the media following the team’s 66-62 win over South Carolina women’s basketball on Sunday. Here’s everything he had to say.

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Opening statement

“First, I just want to give God the glory for (win) No. 24 today, for the victory and for the effort of these kids. What an incredible effort these young ladies gave today, the atmosphere, the fans. 

“I don’t have to sit in here and tell you how good that team is that we played today. In my mind, they’re the best team in the country. And I didn’t mean no disrespect to UCLA. But I’ve had a lot of experience, obviously, with them. When we went there earlier in the year, it wasn’t our best day. I think what you do is, as a coach, you point those things out to your players and maybe show them where they were a little bit lax that day and not quite as good. And then, you try to improve on that and make the corrections.

“I mean, this is why we do what we do as coaches. To watch them fight, their competitive spirit, their toughness, these are things we talk about all the time, but we also talk about walking the walk. It’s easy to talk it; it’s another thing to walk it. When you play a team like that, you better be able to walk it. 

“We knew, when we came out in the second half, they were going to come out. They went in and had a halftime just like we did, and great teams make adjustments. I wasn’t going to sit there and look at it (the score) too long. We used a timeout pretty quick, but I thought our kids responded after that. We didn’t have just a great third quarter, but it wasn’t as bad as it started out.

“There’s not enough words and time for me to express how proud I am of these kids. Their incredible, competitive spirit today, because it took that to beat that team. You’re not going to beat that team unless you just, possession by possession, on the half-court, you execute. There are so many weapons on that other end, so many people that can score. Nobody can take a play off. You can’t – they’ll make you play.

“I just thought we were really locked in for the most part, for most of the day. And I thought we executed some really good stuff. I thought we got some great looks. Even when we didn’t make shots, I loved the shots we were getting. We, obviously, went inside. We had some foul trouble with our bigs when we played them the first time, but we were not going to shy away from trying to go inside this time.

“I was really proud of our bigs and our guards. I thought our guards did a great job of getting the ball inside. Taylor (Jones) was really good the first half, and Kyla (Oldacre) was really good the second half – and that’s my two-headed monster. You just go with your gut sometimes, and I thought both of them really were spectacular today. I thought our guards did a good job of getting them the ball.

“Again, you look defensively, they’re so good. We had such a hard time the first time guarding them. I thought, today, we were very intentional. We had talked about just trying to do some things differently. We still didn’t stop them in fast-break points. They had 16 the first time, 13 today. We just had a hard time with our four players running the floor. As you saw, we went small – and I don’t think it’s small, but we went with four guards just to try to stop some of that. It’s a very effective lineup for us. The analytics say it’s the best one I got, and it’s a tough matchup sometimes for our opponent.

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“Before we came out, I told them my devotional today was, ‘Work at everything with all your heart as if you’re working for the Lord.’ And I told them, ‘You’re going to have to play as if you’re working for the Lord today. You’re going to have to play your hearts out. It’s going to take all that and then some.’ And I just thought these kids did it. They deserved it; they earned it – and, again, against, obviously, a great team. So, I’m proud of them, and we’ll give God the glory for the victory, No. 24.”

On if Texas’ mentality has changed for potential future matchups against South Carolina 

“When we walked out of their arena a month ago, my assistant Elena Lovato said, ‘We’re going to beat them in a month,’ And that’s God’s honest truth. Elena Lovato, when we walked out, she said, ‘I think, when we get them back here, we’ll play better.’ That’s a heck of a team. But that’s what she saw.

“I’ve done that as an assistant before. I remember we got beat when I was an assistant at Arkansas by 25 one day and walked out of there. I looked at Coach (Gary) Blair, and I said, ‘We’re going to beat that team when they come back to Fayetteville.’ And he looked at me probably like I looked at Elena that day.

“I have a lot of confidence in these kids. Like, I see them every day. I know where we are today, but they know I’m never satisfied, and I’m always trying to help them reach a potential and heights that they’ve never seen before. And I thought, today, we played at a level that, maybe, we haven’t played at yet. But I think they’re capable of that. I don’t think that’s a one-off – I just think we’re playing that well.

“When you get in games like this, it comes down to half-court offense and half-court defense. At the end of the day, that’s what wins these games. I thought we executed late; we got the looks we wanted. When it was 64-62 when they came to the side, I looked at them and said, ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ We had to have a stop. To me, that’s where, when it gets hard, that’s about when it gets right for us. And we got it – we got the stop.

“For us, I can’t worry about what’s down the line – I got to worry about going to another top-10 team on Thursday. And then, I got to host another top-10 team on Sunday, from what I know. I don’t really get ahead of myself, but this is just the gauntlet that we’re in right now. But, for today, these kids were really, really special – and they had to be. It took that effort.”

On what Schaefer said to Texas’ players in the team’s post-game team huddle

“I think I told them that, ‘It took tremendous toughness to win that game.’ When you play a team as good as that team, that team is incredible. They’re so hard to guard. They play so hard – so they’re not only talented, but they play hard. Offensively, they’re so hard to match up with, so I just wanted to brag on them and let them know how proud I was of them, what it took, the toughness and the Texas fight, as we say around here. So, it’s more of a proud moment for me.

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“We spend a lot of time together, and, again, it’s why I do what I do. It’s why you get into coaching – to have these moments, to have these games. (It’s) why they came to Texas. Madison (Booker), I think, she and I talked about it. ‘This is why you came to Texas.’ This is why I came. It’s why Rori (Harmon) came. It’s why we all came here – to be in these types of games. 

“He talks about being the lead-in to the Super Bowl, to be this game against South Carolina, playing for an opportunity to win a championship, to still be in the hunt in February for a championship. So, I just think that, for me, it was an opportunity to just really let them know how proud I was of them and remind them of this moment.

“Again, there are no guarantees in life. You got to really pay attention and realize we’re in this moment on Feb. 9 – don’t take it for granted. And I don’t let them forget. I don’t want them to take it for granted – this is such a long, hard grind. When you get a chance to praise them, because I know how hard they work, I’m going to praise them. So, that’s kind of what that was about.”

On Booker’s and Oldacre’s abilities to lead Texas to victory

“I think, for our entire team, one or two people can’t do it. So, I think our entire team recognizes that. For our entire team, they know that toughness is very high on my list of needs. We cannot compete at a high level at the University of Texas if we don’t have toughness and we don’t have a competitive spirit.

“People have games sometimes that are really good. Sometimes, they might not have as good a game as they’re normally having. But it’s not a time to go, ‘What’s wrong with her?’ It’s athletics. But when you’re on a team, I tell them all the time, ‘Okay, maybe your shot’s not falling. Find a way to help me win in another way. Find a way to help your team win this way; find a way to help your team win that way.’

“Tonight, we had some advantages that we wanted to take advantage of, and I thought we did that. Booker getting 11 rebounds, that’s big – really big. So, we got to have people down there competing because they know. Our shootaround was different today. We got after it, but we had to because rebounding has been an issue for us. So, I thought our rebounding was better today. We out-rebounded them. The last two games, we’ve gotten out-rebounded. That’s toughness – they know that.

“So, I would have to brag on my entire team today about their toughness and their competitive spirit. I don’t think I have anybody on my team that lets one bad day last. We just don’t do that. It’s over, and we go to the next day. And I think that’s toughness.”

On what it takes to keep South Carolina from clinching an SEC regular-season championship

“They’re so good; they play so well. They are so tough. And if you’re going to have a chance to stay on the floor with them, you better bring that every night.

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“In our game, it’s hard to build that consistency, night in and night out – and they have it. I’ll take pride in that my teams typically have had that, too, over the course of time. But my team knows, if you’re going to try to win a championship, it takes toughness. It takes the mental toughness, the physical toughness. And, tonight, you need to choose courage over comfort. 

“That’s how good that team is, and that’s how Dawn (Staley) and her staff, that’s how they prepare that team – day in, day out; night in, night out. That team is so tough. They play so hard. And, on top of that, they’re all skilled, they’re talented. So, it just makes for a very difficult matchup every time you step on the floor with them.

“The bottom line is, if you don’t have a competitive spirit that day, you won’t get beat – you’ll get embarrassed. You have to find a way to match that. And if you don’t, it ain’t no fun. I’ve been on both sides of it. 

“So, I think that’s how they’re built, and that’s how I try to build my group, my team. And I think, over the course of time, we’ve been pretty consistent at that. Sure, there’s going to be some nights where you’re going to have an off night. But I know how important it is to be tough. I’m not sure we were really tough during the first encounter – or as tough as we needed to be. And they knew that it was something that was a non-negotiable tonight.”

On whether Aaliyah Moore will return during the regular season

“I don’t think I can answer that right now. I think, right now, we just don’t know. So, we’ll just play it by ear. I know the kid wants to be back, but right now, I don’t think we can really say one way or the other.”

On how Texas will maintain similar mentality in future matchups

“As I said, it’s Feb. 9, and you’re in the mix for a championship. I want them to enjoy it today; I want them to enjoy it tomorrow – it’s a day off. But Tuesday, we got to be focused on Kentucky. And you have to move on. We’ll find out how mature we are because it’ll take a mature group to come in on Tuesday and say, ‘Hey, it’s time to go to work. We got to go on the road and play a top-10 Kentucky team. We got to go.’

“I have full confidence in this group that they’ll come in Tuesday, we’ll watch film like we always do, and we’ll get on the floor and have great focus. This group’s been really good about preparation – they’ve been really good. There’s been some days I’ve had to, maybe, move on from one drill to the other because they’re just playing so hard and doing some really good things. 

“So, I have a lot of confidence in this group. They earned it today, and I want them to enjoy it. But on Tuesday, we got to get ready for Kentucky.”

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