AUSTIN, Texas — ***Note: The video above was published in March 2019.***
The Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball team started practice on Tuesday, officially opening up its 2019-20 season.
The Longhorns enter the new year coming off of a 23-10 season and a first round exit in the NCAA Women's National Championship tournament. Texas was upset by No. 10 seed Indiana, 69-65, after leading at halftime 37-29.
The announcement of last season's NCAA March Madness bracket was spoiled for the Longhorns, when ESPNU accidentally showed the bracket before the selection show aired.
"Obviously for the adults, it's not that big of a deal," said Texas Head Coach Karen Aston. "I'm disappointed for our players. Every year it's always a very big event and it's something you look forward to in particular the freshman who've never experienced it."
On Sept. 18, Texas released its Big 12 Conference schedule. The women's team opens conference play on Friday, Jan. 3, by playing host to TCU. The conference slate features a double round-robin format for the eighth-consecutive year, consisting of 18 games with teams playing each other twice. Big 12 Conference games will begin on Friday, Jan. 3, and conclude on Sunday, March 8. Tip-off times and television network designations for the women's conference games will be announced at a later date, UT said.
Looking forward to this season, though, Aston addressed the media on Monday to talk about the upcoming season.
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Here is what Aston said in the press conference:
Aston opening statement: "It's that tome of year again that we get to kick off practice. The rules allow us to sort of pick when we want to. It used to be Oct. 15 was the magical date and number, but now we've gotten a little more flexibility of when we can begin practice. Spend a little more time with the student-athletes. We try to make tomorrow a little more special in a sense of just talking about goals. I thought we had a really good offseason. We had some players I thought really needed to re-establish themselves. I thought we established at least what we want our work ethic to be like between end of the season last year until now."
Aston on Lashann Higgs and her confidence coming back from injury: "I think any time you're recovering from a knee injury, the mental side of that is always the most challenging. For Lashann, we all know as we've watched her growth throughout the years that she has an enormous passion for the game. She's what most of us would define as a gym rat. She's spent the adequate amount of time so that her skill set stays the same. At this point, it's a matter of trusting herself and trusting the knee. She's good. She's 100%. She looks great."
Aston on challenges faced in the front court: "If you look on paper, we have a depth issue, there's no question. But one of our most successful teams we've had since I've been here, we had (Brianna) Taylor at 5-foot-10 at the four. So, I think competitiveness is more of a factor than size. I like to defend. I like to run. And I think we have some post players that are able to do that."
Aston on Charli Collier's increased role: "I think Charli is a talented basketball player as we all could see. It was just a matter of gaining confidence and getting game reps. That's going to be forced upon her whether we thought we were ready or she's ready ... it's going to happen. She's put herself in a position where I think she's more than ready to take on that responsibility. Charli's different."
Aston on Joyner Holmes' off season progression: "Joyner's put in a lot of work. I think sometimes the best thing you can do with some players is let them and their work speak for itself. There's no question that she's put in the time. The thing that I'm probably most excited about is that she's in good shape. I think she's established herself from a leadership standpoint."
Aston on replacing shooting production from Danni Williams and Destiny Littleton: "I think it's collective. There's no question that there are some newcomers that will contribute heavily to our team. I think that the players that returned understood that they were going to step into some shoes. There was going to be a necessity of more perimeter shooting from players like Joanne Taylor. I think that Audrey Warren has improved dramatically. All of our sophomores took the natural step. They're more mature. They're more confident."
Aston on who is expected to step up for the team: "I expect the four seniors. You have a fifth-year senior in Lashann Higgs who understands everything about what we are trying to get accomplished. Then you look to Jada Underwood, who I thought really came on at the end of last year. Then you look at Sug (Sutton) and Joyner (Holmes), who are returning starters that very obviously have to be leaders of our team."
Aston on last season's ending and perception of the program: "I wouldn't say the perception of the program has been hurt. It's more about what our standard is and what we expect of ourselves. I think what was the most disappointing ... we just didn't play like Texas."
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