Tag: Madison Booker

Notre Dame breaks two-game losing streak with overtime win over Texas

Back on track in a big way.

Notre Dame and Texas was billed as a game to watch in this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The problem with that was the Irish needed to sweat it out to try and overcome its disastrous two games in the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Irish took all they could handle from the Longhorns, but it was enough to get them back on track. They’ll head into their ACC opener against Syracuse coming off an 80-70 overtime victory.

The Irish (6-2) were in control for much of the game after the first quarter, but the Longhorns (7-1) came alive to begin the fourth, and the teams engaged in a back-and-forth throughout that frame.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] broke a tie with what appeared to be the game-winning layup in the final seconds, but [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] fouled Rori Harmon with one second left and the Irish in the penalty. Harmon hit both free throws to tie it back up. The Irish called a timeout to set up a game-winning shot, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]’s corner 3 missed everything, necessitating free basketball.

Kyla Oldacre scored the first basket of overtime 15 seconds in, but that proved to account for the Longhorns’ final points of the game as they missed their final 10 shots. Four of those misses came from Madison Booker, who wasted a 20-point effort.

The Irish were happy to take advantage as their overtime showing was highlighted by 3s from Hidalgo and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]. The Longhorns couldn’t answer as they simply had run out of gas:

Hidalgo scored a season-high 30 points. Miles and Citron both scored 18 with Citron collecting a career-high seven steals. King achieved a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

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Longhorns trio named to Wooden Award preseason watch list

The talented trio is expected to be vital to the Longhorns’ success and is now getting national recognition

With the women’s college basketball season almost underway, the Texas Longhorns are making headlines. On Thursday, Rori Harmon, Madison Booker, and Laila Phelia were named to the Wooden Award preseason watch list. The talented trio is expected to be vital to the Longhorns’ success and is now getting national recognition.

After three years at Michigan, Phelia will enter her first year with Texas with high expectations. During her time with the Wolverines, Phelia scored 1,243 points and was a First Team All-Big Ten selection last season. She should provide the Longhorns with another weapon offensively after scoring in double figures 29 times last season.

Joining Phelia is Booker, who is coming off a stellar freshman campaign. During her first season in Austin, Booker earned WBCA First Team All-America honors and was named the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year. With more help offensively, her numbers should continue to improve.

https://xtwitter.com/TexasWBB/status/1854620229269180503

Rounding out the list is Harmon, who has been a consistent model of excellence in Austin. In 12 games last season, she recorded 93 assists and 14 turnovers. Before an injury cut her season short, Harmon was leading the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Texas native has scored 925 points and dished out 501 assists during her time as a Longhorn.

While Texas will need everyone to contribute, Harmon, Booker, and Phelia will set the tone, and the rest of the country is taking notice of their potential.

Longhorns Small Forward selected to Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year watch list

In her first year as a Longhorn, she became the first freshman in the history of Big 12 women’s basketball to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year

After a stellar freshman season, expectations are high for Longhorns star Madison Booker. The talented small forward was a key piece last season and has been named to the 20-player watch list for the 2025 Cheryl Miller Award. It is given to the top small forward in Division I women’s college basketball.

During the 2023-2024 campaign, Booker averaged 16.5 points and five assists per game. In her first year as a Longhorn, she became the first freshman in the history of Big 12 women’s basketball to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year. While Booker impressed during the regular season she took her play to another level in the playoffs.

In the Big 12 tournament, Booker averaged 21.3 points, four rebounds, and five assists per game. She also shot 50 percent from the field and rarely turned the ball over. With Booker leading the way, Texas added another Big 12 Championship to its trophy case.

While the expectations are higher than ever for Booker, she has shined in the spotlight. The Ridgeland native will also have the help of Rori Harmon, who was limited to 12 games last season. With them both healthy, the Longhorns have a talented duo that will be hard to guard.

If Booker were to win the award, it would be the second straight year she would take home the honor.

Three Notre Dame players among ESPN’s top 25 in women’s basketball

The Irish have serious talent. No doubt about it.

Notre Dame is expected to contend for a national championship this season. That’s not by accident. There are many talented players on the Irish, and at least one prominent sports media outlet recognizes that, not that others don’t.

ESPN has released its preseason list of the top 25 players in women’s basketball. The Irish were one of seven teams to have more than one player on the list. In all, three Irish players were afforded the honor.

Unsurprisingly, [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] ranks the highest among her teammates at third. Even without having played last season, [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] still made the list, clocking in at 13th. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] is right behind her at 14th.

To make things even more exciting, the Irish will face every player this season who is ranked alongside Hidalgo in the top five of this list. Those players are JuJu Watkins, the top-ranked player, alongside USC teammate Kiki Iriafen, Paige Bueckers of UConn and Madison Booker of Texas, which also clocked Rori Harmon in at ninth.

There indeed are some fun times in store for the Irish this season.

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Longhorns Madison Booker named Preseason AP All-American

They will be led by Madison Booker who has been named an AP All-American by the Associated Press

With the women’s college basketball season quickly approaching, expectations are high for the Texas Longhorns. They will be led by Madison Booker who has been named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press. She is coming off an impressive freshman season, which has built optimism for the future.

During the 2023-2024 campaign, Booker appeared in 37 games and averaged 16.5 points. The talented forward also made an impact on the boards, averaging five rebounds a game. As she played a crucial role in helping the Longhorns win 33 games, Booker became the first freshman in the history of Big 12 women’s basketball to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year.

While the Germantown High School product excelled in the regular season, she took her game to another level in the postseason. She led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. In tournament play, Booker averaged 21.3 points, four rebounds, and five assists a game.

https://twitter.com/TexasWBB/status/1848763351658041502

Now that Booker has one year of experience under her belt, she should be even better this season. She will also have some help from Rori Harmon, who is healthy after missing being limited to 12 games during the 2023-2024 campaign due to a knee injury.

As the Associated Press showed earlier this week, the Longhorns already have a star in Booker, ready to take this team to new heights.

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named preseason AP All-American

The Irish truly have one of the best players in the country.

Anyone following women’s basketball knows about Notre Dame sophomore guard [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]. She tore up the landscape as a freshman and even was named a finalist for national player of the year. She is the primary reason the Irish are expected to contend for the Final Four this season, though a returning [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] isn’t far behind.

The Associated Press realizes how special Hidalgo is and has named her to its preseason All-American Team. She is part of the first trio of sophomores to be named to this team alongside JuJu Watkins of USC and Madison Booker of Texas. Paige Bueckers of UConn and Watkins teammate Kiki Iriafen round out the team.

Hidalgo already has been named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year for this season. She led the country with 4.6 steals a game last season and was sixth nationally with 22.6 points a game. It would be shocking for her not to build upon that this season:

Congratulations to all five players who were selected for this honor.

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ESPN’s Charlie Creme highlights Notre Dame in big early-season games

Be sure to watch these games.

Notre Dame is expected to do well this season. Its No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll is evidence of that. Naturally, some of its early games will receive a lot of attention.

In light of the poll’s release, ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme has published a story that answers the question of what the biggest early-season game is for each team ranked in that poll.

Creme has the Irish’s ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge matchup against Texas as the Irish’s biggest game and gives the following reason:

“Both the Irish and Longhorns saw freshmen become stars a season ago with their team leaders out with injury. Rori Harmon is back for Texas to team up with Madison Booker, and [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] can now pair [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], returning from a knee injury. This is a dream backcourt matchup that could define which duo is meshing the best. This looks to be the best Irish team under Ivey. This game and one a week later against UConn, also in South Bend, should tell us just how good.”

The Irish also will face USC early in the season, and Creme has that game as the biggest for the Trojans, who rank third in the poll. Here’s the reason for that:

“A week before the two schools square off in football in Los Angeles, they do the same in basketball. Both the Trojans and the Irish should be in the mix for a No. 1 seed come March, and the winner of this game takes a massive advantage in that quest. One month before (JuJu) Watkins gets to go head-to-head with (Paige) Bueckers, she faces Hannah Hidalgo, the second-best freshman to Watkins a year ago.”

So yeah, there are a few game on the schedule you won’t want to miss. Simply put, don’t.

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Texas women’s basketball ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team has great expectations heading into its first season of SEC competition in 2024-25.

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team has great expectations heading into its first season of SEC competition in 2024-25. Continue reading “Texas women’s basketball ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25”

Texas Longhorns women’s basketball falls to NC State in Elite Eight

Whenever it looked like the Longhorns were in striking distance, North Carolina State’s Aziaha James hit another three-pointer.

Whenever it looked like the Longhorns were in striking distance, North Carolina State’s Aziaha James hit another three-pointer. Continue reading “Texas Longhorns women’s basketball falls to NC State in Elite Eight”

Longhorns women’s basketball to play NC State in Elite Eight

With a 69-47 victory over Gonzaga Friday in Sweet 16 action the Texas Longhorns earned the right to play North Carolina State on Sunday.

With a 69-47 victory over the No. 4 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs in women’s basketball Sweet 16 action at the Moda Center on Friday, the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns earned the right to play No. 3 seed North Carolina State Sunday in Portland.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT with ABC broadcasting the game.

The Longhorns are 5-2 all-time against the Wolfpack, but it was NC State that won 84-73 the last time the teams played on Nov. 29, 2019.

It is Texas’ 11th all-time appearance in the Elite Eight as the program looks for its fourth Final Four appearance in its history and its first since 2003. The Longhorns also made the Final Four in 1986-87. It is Texas’ third Elite Eight appearance in four seasons.

The Wolfpack fought past Stanford 77-67 in the Sweet 16 behind a 29-point effort from Aziaha James. Madison Hayes dished out 10 assists while Saniya Rivers registered a 13-point, seven-rebound effort.