Texas Longhorns' Madison Booker Making Up For Lost Time On Defense

Sophomore Madison Booker wants to use her defense to repay her teammates for picking up her slack last year

Jan 30, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Ashton Judd (24) shoots over Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) during the first half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

AUSTIN - For the No. 5 Texas Longhorns against Mizzou, it was a tale of two halves. For sophomore guard Madison Booker, it was the same for her offensively, but she was consistently a disruptive force on defense all night.

Booker played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points, but only four of those came in the first half. Despite not having offensive success, Booker still gave her all on defense.

"The adjustments at halftime, second half, I think it was more just be aggressive, get the ball and get to your spots, create for your team like I've been doing," Booker said. "I think the first half was kind of really lax. They had been kind of face-guarding me a little bit. I was kind of just kind of going through the motions, not like I was supposed to."

Jan 30, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) and Missouri Tigers guard De'Myla Brown (1) battle for the loose ball during the second half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Imagesl / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

She was aggressive on the defensive end from the start and when she added in the aggression on offense, she fell right into her stride. For her defensive effort, she has been stellar in the past few games.

In the wins over Tennessee and Ole Miss, she had late steals to seal the game, and her defensive effort is for her to live up to a goal she set for herself. She felt that last year, she didn't do enough on defense and didn't want her teammates to have to pick up her slack anymore.

"I think last year, my teammates, they picked up the slack for me on the defensive end," Booker said. "And I think this year I want to, you know, give that back and show thanks for last year. And just, know, be better night in and night out. And, I mean also coach Schaefer is a defensive coach, so why not?"

Finding the balance on the offensive and defense ends of the court has been key for Booker to improve her play and become an elite player. Last season, without point guard Rori Harmon, Booker ran the offense as a freshman. Now, Harmon is back and the duo runs the offense together, allowing for more spread-out play.

For Booker, she's achieving her personal goal of improving her defense, while also making her coaches proud.

Booker and Texas will return to the court against Texas A&M on Sunday in College Station.

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