Texas Women's Basketball Season Preview 2024-25: Biggest games, key players to watch and more

Modified Sep 09, 2024 16:03 GMT

Texas Women's Basketball Season Preview 2024-25 (Image Source: IMAGN)

Texas opens the 2024-25 women's basketball season with its eyes set on the national championship. Last year, the Longhorns went 30-4 and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Big 12 Tournament.

Coach Vic Schaefer and his team also claimed one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and were just a win shy of getting to the Final Four. But they were stopped by No. 11 NC State in the Elite Eight.

The pain of the heartbreaking result motivated the team's top four scorers to return and settle unfinished business as one of the newest members of the SEC. Here's an inside look into Texas' 2024-25 women's basketball campaign, from its biggest games to key players to watch out for this coming season.

Texas' biggest games of the 2024-25 season

Texas will have two notable nonconference regular-season games lined up this season. The Longhorns will first visit Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, for the Gulf Coast Showcase.

The school opens the three-day tournament with a showdown against New Mexico State on Nov. 29. Other teams competing in the event are Boise State, Illinois State, West Virginia, High Point, Butler and Santa Clara.

The Longhorns will also take part in the ACC-SEC Challenge, where they will take on Notre Dame on Dec. 5. This is the third meeting of both teams, with Texas and Notre Dame splitting their initial faceoffs in 1986 and 1997.

Texas begins its SEC regular season on the road against Oklahoma on Jan. 2 and concludes with a home game against Florida on March 2.

The Longhorns will face defending champion South Carolina twice on Jan. 12 and Feb. 9 in a home-and-away format. They will host Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. They will visit Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Top Texas players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season

#1. Madison Booker

Madison Booker was a revelation in her freshman year with Texas last season. The 6-foot-1 forward tallied 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Booker was excellent on the field with a 45.7% clip and had an outstanding free-throw clip of 87.6%.

The Longhorns will count on the incoming sophomore in the 2024-25 women's basketball season as she comes in with a year of NCAA experience tucked under her belt.

#2. Rori Harmon

Rori Harmon only played 12 games last season due to a season-ending knee injury she sustained on Dec. 27, 2023. Before that moment, Harmon was having the best season of her career, averaging 14.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 7.8 apg and 3.1 spg.

The 5-foot-6 guard also shot 52.3% from the field and 66.7% from the free-throw line. Now fully recovered from the injury, Harmon is expected to be the team's primary playmaker with her pinpoint assists and excellent all-around game.

#3. Taylor Jones

Taylor Jones is coming off a great season with Texas, playing 33 games and tallying 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest.

The 6-foot-4 forward-center, who shot 60% from the field this past season, is expected to anchor the Longhorns' defense and share valuable minutes with 6-foot-9 behemoth Abbie Boutilier at the post.

Predictions for Texas' 2024-25 season

Texas will be one of the teams in contention for the 2025 national title. With four of their top scorers returning for another year, expect the Longhorns to approach the 30-win column despite tougher competition from the SEC.

Texas will figure again in the top four of the women's basketball rankings and be a title favorite from the first week onward.

Will Texas win the 2025 women's national basketball title? Let us know your views in the comments section.