March Madness 2025: Texas' bench contributions cannot be overstated in NCAA Tournament win

Freshman guard Bryanna Preston missed a jumper in the second quarter of the Texas women's basketball's first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Right when it looked like another rebound for William & Mary, junior Jordana Codio sped through the middle of the paint for the putback to extend Texas' 27-18 lead.

Kyla Oldacre found Preston for the outlet pass and after finishing her layup, gave the Michael Jordan shrug with the smirk to match.

The Longhorns rely on Madison Booker and Rori Harmon to make plays, but the tournament requires effort from everybody and that's exactly what Texas got in its 105-61 win.

"We started with the small lineup with four guards tonight and I thought we had some kids come off the bench to do a nice job," head coach Vic Schaefer said.

Jordan Lee makes her presence felt — on both ends

Jordan Lee, a freshman, is typically found on the bench or playing some minutes as a role player. But for the first time, since the Longhorns played UT-Rio Grand Valley on Dec. 29, she got her start.

"She stays ready, I'm glad she earned (that start) that today," Harmon said.

Tasked with guard one of William & Mary's quicker point guards, Lee had a difficult job. But she applied pressure on William & Mary, and defending someone tightly enough to take them out of the play is a job well done— even though it's not flashy.

"I've kind of talked about all year the importance of just staying mentally locked in when we have such a deep team," Lee said.

Lee sunk the only 3-point shots for the Longhorns in the third quarter, going 3-for-7 and finished the game with 13 points.

"She is very confident in her shot and not worried about missing it. I am glad she stayed with it and that's another player on our team that we will need," Harmon said.

The surprises didn't stop there.

'Everyone has a role' for Texas women's basketball

To open the second half, there was a new starter: Justice Carlton. She scored four points in four minutes to make it 64-40. Texas' bench contributed 35 points; higher than its season average of 26.9.

The standard for reserve units is South Carolina, averaging a nation-leading 42.2 bench points per game.

"Those kids have played enough this year in some big ball games to be able to function tonight," said Schaefer.

Bench functionality in the postseason can sustain a run for a championship. Schaefer noted that some players who came off the bench started throughout the season to get the reps to be ready for big moments in the tournament.

"Ndjak started for us a lot when (Aliyah) Moore went down," he said referring to Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda.

Mwenentanda, a junior guard, found a spot in the starting rotation in late January against Texas' win against Ole Miss. Moore, a senior, missed that games, a few others, with knee pain. To fill the gap, Mwenentanda had a season-high 15 points against Mississippi State in February and in the last six games she started, Mwenentanda had double-digit points in three of them.

But Schaefer mentioned another player that put up big minutes for the Longhorns.

"Jordana Codio changed the game. She's worked hard these last two weeks and I am proud of her, appreciate her energetic plays and offensive rebounds," Schaefer.

Codio is a junior forward who missed her freshman year due to an injury. Matching her season high of playing 16 minutes, she finished the night with four points and two offensive rebounds. Second-chance opportunities can boost momentum and Codio help Texas grab 16 offensive boards on the night leading to 18 second-chance points.

"Obviously the goals are rebounding the ball and doing all the little things I can do to help the team. I feel like I gave good energy and I did my role so that was good," Codio said. "I mean, everyone has a role as a team, and I feel like at this level, you just have to stay ready, because you never know what's gonna happen every night."

With Texas advancing to play Illinois on Monday afternoon, the Longhorns must prepare for an Illini squad that beat Creighton with just six players.

"We have to be ready, certainly our depth I hope will play a factor because we do have some. But our depth has got to play well," Schaefer said.

The game tips off at 1 p.m. inside Moody Center.

"We've seen the teams in the past three years or so that have made really deep runs in the tournament. That's what they have. They have multiple weapons off the bench and allows there to be no drop off on both sides of the ball," Lee said.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bench looms large in NCAA Tournament win against W&M

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March Madness 2025: Texas' bench contributions cannot be overstated in NCAA Tournament win

Jordan Lee makes her presence felt — on both ends

'Everyone has a role' for Texas women's basketball

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