Texas Longhorns
Overall Rank: #10
Conference Rank: #2 Big 12
Texas has been to at least the Sweet Sixteen each of the last four seasons. Despite some significant departures, most notably guards Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty, the expectations are still very high for the Longhorns. That is largely due to a superb recruiting class. Charli Collier is one of the best recruits in this class and the 6-5 post is expected to make a huge impact right away. Sedona Prince would highlight nearly any other class in the country. The 6-7 center is a top ten recruit and certainly has the talent to dominate in the paint right away.
2017-18 Record: 28-7, 15-3
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Karen Aston
Coach Record: 142-62 at Texas, 243-125 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Ariel Atkins, Guard, 14.9 ppg
Brooke McCarty, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, Forward, 6.0 ppg
Rellah Boothe, Forward, 5.1 ppg
Jordan Hosey, Forward, 3.5 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Lashann Higgs, Senior, Guard, 12.8 ppg
Jatarie White, Senior, Forward/Center, 10.8 ppg
Joyner Holmes, Junior, Guard/Forward, 6.8 ppg
Sug Sutton, Junior, Guard, 6.8 ppg
Olamide Aborowa, Senior, Forward, 2.8 ppg
Chasity Patterson, Sophomore, Guard, 2.8 ppg
Jada Underwood, Junior, Guard/Forward, 2.7 ppg
Destiny Littleton, Sophomore, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Key New Players
Joanne Allen-Taylor, Freshman, Guard
Charli Collier, Freshman, Forward/Center
Sedona Prince, Freshman, Center
Audrey Warren, Freshman, Guard/Forward
Danni Williams, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from Texas A&M
Projection:
Coach Karen Aston does return some talent too. Lashann Higgs will be the new leader on the perimeter after averaging 12.8 points per game last season. Junior Sug Sutton should play a larger role this year. Sutton spent quite a bit of time on the floor last season, but could be asked to do more scoring this time around. Danni Williams, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M, will help replace the departures on the perimeter. Last year she averaged 14.7 points and 2.4 assists per game and made 71 three-pointers. That three-point shooting will be extremely important for this team and Williams’ consistent shooting and leadership will be helpful as well. Jatarie White and Joyner Holmes are an experienced frontcourt duo. White averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds, while Holmes added 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds. With the newcomers in the frontcourt, this is suddenly a very deep frontcourt. The backcourt has plenty of options as well and this looks like a team that has the talent to win the Big 12 and make a push for their first Final Four appearance in over 15 years.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 80.7 (14th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.1 (147, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.1 (12, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.4 (179, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (197, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.0 (80, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.7 (160, 7)
Rebound Margin: 10.9 (3, 2)
Assists Per Game: 16.5 (23, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.9 (118, 6)
Madness 2018 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#1 Charli Collier
#5 Sedona Prince
#42 Joanne Allen-Taylor
#94 Audrey Warren
