No. 1 Texas Longhorns Fall To No. 5 South Carolina In SEC Championship Game

Texas Longhorns unable to overcome South Carolina for SEC Championship

March 9, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) grabs a loose ball as South Carolina Gamecocks forward Chloe Kitts (21) watches during the first half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

GREENVILLE, SC - The No. 1 Texas Longhorns scored just six points in the second quarter against the No. 5 South Carolina Gamecocks, leading to a 64-45 loss in the SEC Tournament Championship. The Longhorns were unable to get any offense going in the SEC Championship, leading to an abysmal offensive performance and a 19-point loss.

Not only was Texas unable to get going on offense, but it struggled to stop the Gamecocks on defense. After being down just two points after the first quarter, South Carolina dominated the transition game, scoring 21 second quarter points to pull away before halftime.

After beating Ole Miss and LSU, the Longhorns didn't have enough left in the tank to win their third game in three days.

Texas shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half and made just eight shots. They also turned the ball over 11 times. The Gamecocks nailed their scout and were able to deny Texas' attempts to get the ball into the lane and double-teamed Madison Booker, the SEC Player of the Year. Booker was named to the SEC All-Tournament team.

March 9, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Te-Hina Paopao (0) goes to the basket around Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) during the first half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Booker scored just two first-half points and Rori Harmon was the only semblance of an offensive spark the Longhorns had all game. Booker would go on to finish with a 10-10 double-double but didn't make her first field goal until the second quarter and then not again until the fourth.

Harmon finished the game with 14 points. Taylor Jones also had 14 points, but was 4-8 from the field and perfect from the free-throw line.

Texas turned the ball over 18 times and lost the rebound battle 37-35 while shooting just 30 percent.

Defensively, the Longhorns didn't have an answer for South Carolina's Chloe Kitts, who finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sania Feagin dominated the battle under the basket, scoring 11 points. The Gamecocks shot 43 percent from the field and were perfect from the free-throw line. Kitts was named tournament MVP.

The two teams shared the regular season title after splitting their matchups, but South Carolina won the trophy in the third matchup between the teams.

Now, the Longhorns will head back to Austin and await Selection Sunday to see if they have played well enough this season to earn a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

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