Less than a month after an embarrassing road loss at South Carolina in its inaugural SEC season, No. 4 Texas made history on Sunday, delivering No. 2 South Carolina its first regular-season SEC defeat in more than two years and ending the Gamecocks’ 57-game winning streak (a league record) in conference play. The defending national champions never led the contest, losing 66-62 as Madison Booker paced the Longhorns with 20 points. It was Texas’ seventh ranked win of the season.
Texas’ win shifts the picture at the top of women’s college hoops and in the SEC. Ahead of this game, the Longhorns had yet to secure a marquee win on the year, losing at South Carolina in January and at Notre Dame (now ranked No. 3) in December. Now, both the Gamecocks and Longhorns share the top line in the SEC at 10-1. With a win over No. 19 Tennessee, No. 6 LSU could force a three-way tie atop the conference with five games to go in SEC play. All three teams are now in contention for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament depending on how they finish the conference season.
For Texas, the game wasn’t just about shuffling the top of the conference and the NCAA Tournament picture; it was also a redemptive opportunity. In January, despite Texas’ vaunted defense forcing 22 turnovers and notching 10…
