Women’s NCAA Spokane Regional: Texas, Ohio State meet with spot in Elite 8 on the line

The NCAA Tournament’s Spokane Regional on Friday at the Arena boasts a pair of interesting matchups between elite women’s basketball teams from powerhouse conferences.

The late game features the defending national champion with Spokane-grown players near the culmination of their college careers facing a team averaging more than 90 points per game in the tournament .

But the early game, pitting second-seeded Texas and No. 6 seed Ohio State, is just as intriguing and should produce plenty of fireworks.

How they got here

The Longhorns, ranked No. 6 in the country in the final Associated Press poll, cruised into the Sweet 16 with an 18-point win over 15th-seeded Fairfield in the first round, followed by a 22-point win over seventh-seeded Utah.

Texas has won 13 in a row following three straight midseason losses.

“I love my team,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said at the media availability on Thursday. “They have really accomplished a lot this year. They play the game extremely hard.

“They’ve gotten better and better throughout the course of the season, which I think I take great pride in as a coach. I think all my teams have always consistently gotten better throughout the year, even into March.”

Ohio State led 11th-seeded Missouri State by just two points with 41 seconds to go before pulling out a seven-point win over the Bears in the first round before dominating third-seeded LSU on the Tigers’ home court.

“I think we had a strong belief going in that we could win, but then to actually do it, and to play very well,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “We played one of our best basketball games at the right time. Hopefully, that gives them confidence as we prepare for this very, very talented and well-coached Texas team.”

Recent tourney history

This is a second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 for the Longhorns, who fell to South Carolina in a regional final last season. Texas has qualified for the past eight tourneys, but hasn’t reached a Final Four since the 2002-03 season.

“I don’t think there’s any pressure on us,” Schaefer said.

Ohio State last reached the Sweet 16 in 2017 and has one Final Four appearance, in 1993.

“(A win) would obviously be a huge milestone,” McGuff said. “We have a very passionate fan base who takes a lot of pride in our program.

“Certainly then for our players, what we’re trying to accomplish, who we’re trying to be as a program. That would be an obvious next step for us.”

Game plans

Ohio State has had once practice since its upset of LSU.

“With the limited amount of preparation, we tried to focus on, ‘Hey, let’s do some things that will allow us to be the best version of ourselves,’ ” McGuff said.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country, one of the best rebounding teams in the country. We did some work in those areas to try to prepare us for the game.”

“I think the main thing was just staying focused, just playing our game,” sophomore guard Kateri Poole said. “I think everybody is on the same page, wants it together for each other.”

The Buckeyes play with all five players facing the basket.

“Our spacing, we have a little bit of a unique style where we play a lot of five-out basketball where most people are more traditional with the post players around the basket,” McGuff said. “We’ve recruited to that to be able to play that way.”

Schaefer said there’s no concern about motivation.

“We’re playing the Big Ten champions tomorrow,” Schaefer said. “We’re going to have to be on point, again, defensively. But then offensively we got to find a way to score some points.”

Longhorns players agreed they have to continue to play with a chip on their shoulders.

“We might be the higher seed, but games are not won on paper,” Texas senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor said. “We have to play our game to beat the team we’re playing.”

Texas relies heavily on freshman guards Rori Harmon – the Big 12 Freshman of the Year – and Aaliyah Moore.

“I think the younger players have come to realize it’s not high school anymore, everybody’s coming for you,” senior guard Audrey Warren said.

“I don’t care what your name was in high school. They’re coming to win. They are not coming to beat you, they’re coming to beat Texas.”