AUSTIN, Texas — 'Tis the season of giving.
For UT graduate transfer Sophie Taylor, her holiday season was filled with cheer and the a special gift from her coach: a scholarship.
At the Texas Longhorns women's basketball annual holiday party, the players and coaches draw names and exchange gifts. This year, Coach Karen Ashton drew Taylor's name.
Taylor, a walk-on graduate transfer from Houston Baptist, was gifted with a scholarship.
UT Athletics caught the gift reveal on camera and shared it with KVUE.
Taylor opened her gift from coach and read it aloud in front of the team.
"We are so proud to have you on the team," Taylor read. "You were a gift to us when we needed one really bad. We knew it was the right fit for you to be with us. After all, you already had burnt orange in your blood as a Westwood alum. We look forward to your greater contributions to help Texas women's basketball .. Hook Em ... for the rest of the season. For this cause, it is our pleasure to help you Hook Em for the rest of the season. We are hereby pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a full athletic scholarship."
The room erupted into cheers from Taylor's teammates and hugs were exchanged all around the room. After the announcement, Taylor facetimed her family to let them know the good news.
"We just had Christmas and they just gave me a full ride," Taylor said on the facetime call.
The video shows her parents cheering on the other end of the phone call. Coach Aston thanked Taylor's parents for having her on the team and said they were lucky to have her.
Taylor played high school basketball at Westwood High School and played three seasons at Houston Baptist before transferring to Texas.
Congratulations to Taylor on the scholarship!
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