Texas coach Vic Schaefer with Madison Booker. (Texas Athletics Photo)
Kentucky lost 64-53 at Texas Feb. 9 but still did something few teams have done — it held Texas star Madison Booker to only eight points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field
The 6-foot-1 junior averages 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She is shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 86 percent at the foul line going into Saturday’s 3 p.m. game against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament third round in Fort Worth, Texas.
She is coming off a sensational 40-point performance in a 100-58 win over Oregon.She was 14 of 21 from the field and 10 of 11 at the foul line. She became only the sixth Texas player to reach the 40-point mark in a game and set a new school record for points in a NCAA game.
She also had eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and no turnovers in the win.
“That’s what an All-American does. She was in a zone today,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said after the win. “She had that look about her. We really wanted to try to go inside today a little bit. We didn’t do it very well. But when you get somebody like Madison hot, I mean you got to try to empty the playbook for her.
“And our kids did a great job. When they went zone, Madison’s got certain spots on the floor it’s just hard to keep her from scoring from. And our kids understand that. This might be the best team I’ve had offensively that they understand how to get the right person to guard them so that the person we’re trying to get ’em the ball will be open.”
Schaefer said his team is “really cerebral offensively” and understands spacing and who is the team’s star.
“They understand where Madison needs the ball. I thought we ran some really good stuff, got her some really good looks,” the Texas coach said after the Oregon win. “And, look, 14 of 21, she’s just a hard matchup for people.
‘She just jumps up over you. She got fouled, went to the line 11 times. Again, she’s a generational talent. They just don’t come around that often.”
Schaefer admits he pushes Booker to do even more no matter how good she has been.
“I’ve had to learn this, and it’s really hard. But every day is not going to be their best day. In practice, I’m constantly telling her, especially in transition, hunt, hunt, hunt. Because she will come down and she’s not hunting (her shot), she’s hunting to pass,” the coach said. “I want her to hunt to go get a bucket.
“But she is such an unselfish kid, she enjoys the pass as much as the bucket. I’ve had to tell her, ‘Hey, you turned down a 12-footer to get her an 18-footer. Don’t do that.’”
The Texas coach and players all call her a “great teammate” who values winning.
“She’s just a really special kid,” Schaefer said.
