Texas Women

The University of Texas held its first basketball competition in 1900, six years before Magnus Mainland started the men's team at Texas. The games in the first few years were intramural. By 1906, the school was playing other institutions, although only home games, not off-campus. Full varsity intercollegiate competition in women's basketball began in 1974. Through the 2021–22 season, the Longhorns rank sixth in total victories and eighth in all-time win percentage among all NCAA Division I women's college basketball programs, with an all-time win–loss record of 1161–424 (.732).

The Longhorns have won 22 total conference championships (12 regular-season conference titles and 10 conference tournament titles) in women's basketball and have made 33 total appearances in the NCAA tournament (49–32 overall record), reaching the NCAA Final Four three times (1986, 1987, 2003) and the NCAA regional finals (Elite Eight) 10 times. Texas won the 1986 NCAA Championship to finish the 1985–86 season with a 34–0 record. Through the 2021–22 season, Texas ranks 10th in all-time NCAA Tournament victories (48), trailing Connecticut (130), Tennessee (128), Stanford (99), Notre Dame (69), Louisiana Tech (65), Duke (61), Georgia (58), Baylor (54) and North Carolina (49).

The very first women's basketball games occurred in 1892, at Smith College, under the direction of Senda Berenson Abbott. Shortly thereafter, Clara Baer brought the game to Louisiana. The details of how the game came to Texas is not known for certain, but in 1900, Eleanore Norvell organized the first basketball game at the University of Texas. Norvell was originally from Oklahoma, and came to Texas to direct the physical education department. She has been at Texas for less than a year when she introduced basketball to students at the school. The first recorded game occurred on Saturday January 13, 1900. The teams played four ten-minute quarters—the final score of that first game was 3–2.

Although the men's game and women's game both had their roots in the Naismith rules, the first set of rules left a lot to be specified, and the rules for the women's game developed differently than for the men. Both Senda Berensen and Clara Baer used Naismith's rules as an inspiration, but developed their own set of rules, including marked areas on the court limiting the movement of players to their respective sections. Some of these rules were motivated by the prevailing assumptions of "female frailty and dependence".

Texas would play limited intercollegiate basketball between 1903 and 1921. Eunice Aden was captain of the basketball team in 1903, took over coaching duties in 1905 and became director of physical education in 1911. Opportunities in basketball grew, but only in a limited way. Intercollegiate play existed, but the school did not allow off-campus games. When Aden retired in 1921, she was replaced by Anna Hiss, who would run the physical education department until 1957. While she was called a visionary for her role in directing physical education and intramurals, she was "dead-set against intercollegiate athletics for women". The limited intercollegiate play under Aden came to an end, with basketball now limited to intramurals and interclass play.

The ascension of Hiss to the head of the department roughly coincided with the influence of Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States. In 1923, Hoover was head of the Girl Scouts of the United States. Although Hoover was an advocate of sports, she felt that highly competitive sports were detrimental. Hoover helped to found the Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Foundation (WDNAAF). This foundation passed a resolution in 1925 banning extramural competition. The following year, Hiss formed an organization which voted "condemn intercollegiate competition for women, and to endorse the intramural/interclass model".

Hiss supported many activities, including tennis, golf, archery, swimming and interpretive dance, but was opposed to team sports. In general, "artistry was favored over athleticism". She led an unsuccessful protest against American woman participation in the Olympics of 1928, 1932, and 1936. She was the driving force behind the construction of a Women's Gymnasium (named in her honor after her death). While it was a substantial resource for women's athletics, it was designed to fit her beliefs—the courts were too small for a proper basketball game, and had no room for spectators and the swimming pool was deliberately shorter than Olympic length.

While basketball was not officially supported as a school-sponsored sport in the 1920s and 30s, it was still played by many groups. The interclass games were de-emphasized, but fraternities and sororities played the game, as well as organizations such as the YWCA, industrial leagues and AAU teams.

After Hiss's departure, basketball at Texas began to grow, although it would be almost a decade until it became a full varsity sport. The University of Texas Sports Association (UTSA) a predecessor to the athletic department, organized the sports available for women. Basketball was not one of the club sports offered until a student, Mary Neikirk, organized a petition which was presented to the administration. The school agreed to add basketball as a club sport under the auspices of the UTSA.

The first year's budget was $100. A team was formed, and the team played under the girl's rules of the era—six players on a team, two of whom stayed at the defensive end, two of whom stayed in the offensive end and two, called "rovers" who could play both ends. These rules were used until 1971, at which time they switched to "boy's rules".

In 1973, the team practiced and played in the annex of Gregory Gymnasium. Rodney Page, who had some experience as a women's basketball assistant coach, was a referee at one of the games. When the current coach of the team quit, Page was hired. The Texas team, in Pages' first year, compiled a record of 7–11.

The 1974 season was a season of transition, with a mixture of firsts and lasts. This year's team was the first to play their games in Gregory Gymnasium itself, rather than the annex. This was the first year the team had trainers, and it was the first year that the Longhorn Band and cheerleaders perform for the team. It was their last year under the auspices of the UTSA. It was the last year before the sport attained the status of a full varsity sport.

Title IX was passed in 1972, with a provision prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. At the time it was passed, it was unknown what impact it would have on sports, including whether it even applied to intercollegiate sports. Two years, later, in 1974, the issue wasn't yet settled, with the Tower Amendment specifically excluding revenue-producing sports, but shortly thereafter, the Tower Amendment was eliminated. It was becoming clear that universities would have to respond sooner or later, but Texas responded in 1974. Shortly after the conclusion of the 1974 basketball season, Stephen Spurr, the University president, announced that a women's athletic department would be started, complete with offices, staff and a budget of $50,000.

Some schools waited for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to provide specific regulations covering Title IX. These regulations would not be published until 1975. In 1974, Texas began offering varsity sports opportunities to female students in seven sports. In some ways, the University of Texas program became the envy of women at other schools, but the initial progress was relative. Two-thirds of the male athletes at Texas were on scholarship, while only one in fifteen female students were on scholarship. There were 21 male coach positions, almost all full-time, but seven women's coaches who were all part-time.

In the team's debut year, 1974-75, the team improved on their prior year's record, put together their first winning season by and they won the Texas State Invitational. The team started out strong, winning their first five games, including an overtime win against Houston 63–62, before running into Baylor, who won easily 116–62. Some of the games were played as preliminaries to the men's games, but others were stand-alone games. They would also lose their next game to Southwest Texas, on a night when fundraiser was held, with an exhibition match between UT All-Stars and the All American Red Heads Team, a barnstorming team of female basketball players. The team earned an invitation to the Texas AIAW post season tournament, as a second seed behind Southwest Texas. The tournament schedule required five games in three days. The Texas team did well, except against Southwest Texas, ending up with 17 victories against 10 losses, five of which were to Southwest Texas. Despite a winning record, they failed to make the AIAW tournament.

The following season, Texas team would achieve even more. The basketball team added Retha Swindell, a 6' 2" rebounder with defensive skills. The school also hired Donna Lopiano, who started what would become a 17-year stint as women's athletic director. She "vowed to have every Longhorn women's team in the top 10 and at least one national title within five years". While the school was expressing a commitment to women's varsity sports, not everyone was supportive. The football coach, Darrell Royal, had told President Ford that "Title IX might be the death of big-time college football.". Despite that concern, she managed to convince him to support her during her interview. The team's first game was against Southwest Texas, the team that had defeated Texas five times in the previous season. This time, Texas would prevail 57–47 in a game held at their arena. The team lost three in a row as a result of sickness and injury, then responded with a twelve-game winning streak. The team would go on to a 21–7 season record and finish 1st in the Texas AIAW South Central Zone.

Under Rod Page, the team had improved materially, so it was a surprise that when the Longhorns completed their regular season and prepared for the post-season tournament, athletic director Lopiano announced he would not be continuing as coach of the team. The news came as a shock to Page and the team. The reason given was that the position was a head coach of basketball and volleyball—Page did not have volleyball experience. However, Lopiano had her eye on Jody Conradt, who she felt could lead the team to become a national contender.

Lopiano's choice was Jody Conradt, who was garnering national attention as the head coach at the University of Texas at Arlington. She turned a losing program around, and the 1975–76 team would compile a 23–11 record, despite materially strengthening their schedule of opponents at the same time. Two days after announcing that Page would not be returning, Lopiano announced that Conradt would be the coach starting with the next season. Conradt wasn't surprised that the team felt loyalty to Page, but she asked them to "have an open mind".

The first season under Conradt 1976-77 had a schedule of 46 games. The schedule included games in the Northeast, the first out-of-state trip for the team, and the first airplane ride for many of the players. To save money, the team stayed at the home of Lopiano's parents in Stamford, Connecticut. Texas lost badly to Queens College, then ranked No. 15 in the nation, but went on to the Penn State Invitational where they beat Penn State and Southern Connecticut, at that time a national power. Mel Greenberg, the organizer of the first top 25 women's poll, was in attendance. By the time the team returned to Austin, it learned of its first national ranking at No. 14. The team would complete its first season under Conradt with a record of 36–10 and make its first ever trip to the AIAW Regional Tournament.

In 1977-78, Texas went 29-10, finished first in the Texas AIAW S.C. Zone and went to the AIAW Regional Tournament again. They then made their first and only trip to the National Women's Invitational Tournament where they made it to the championship game and lost to Old Dominion to finish ranked #15 - their first end of season ranking in program history.

Conradt coached both basketball and volleyball her first two seasons, but would give up volleyball duties after the 1977-78 season. The team would go on to become a dominant women's basketball team on the 1980s, ranked in the AP Top 10 for all but one year between 1979 and 1990.

1978-79 was the program's best season up to that point. They won a then-school record 37 games and had their best ever winning percentage of 0.902. They went to the AIAW regional for the third time in a row, but despite finishing the season ranked at a best ever #4 in the AP Poll, they didn't go to the AIAW National Championship or the NWIT.

In the 1979-80 season, the Longhorns continued to improve, making their first ever appearance in the AIAW Tournament which was the national championship tournament until 1981. They would go again, in 1981 and 1982 (at which time it was an alternative to the NCAA Championship). Texas went 33-4 that season and finished ranked #7. In the post-season they finished 2nd to Stephen F. Austin in the Texas AIAW and lost to #9 Maryland in the 2nd Round of the AIAW Championship after beating #20 Mercer. Conradt received the AIAW National Coach of the Year award, the first of 4 National Coach of the year awards she would win.

In 1980-81, Texas went 28-8 and won its first Texas AIAW tournament championship in school history. It also won the first "Southwest Conference Tournament," a mid-season tournament in Houston made of Southwest Conference teams. It went back to the AIAW tournament and lost in the first round at home against Illinois State to finish the season ranked #16.

In 1981-82, Texas again won the "Southwest Conference Tournament" and the Texas AIAW as well as the AIAW Region 4 tournament. Most of the top teams went to the brand new NCAA Championship game in the postseason; but Texas, Rutgers and Villanova were the only top 20 teams to choose the AIAW tournament, which was held at the same time, instead. After beating Central Missouri State, Wisconsin and Wayland Baptist, Texas played in their first National Championship game where they lost to Rutgers 83-77 and finished the season ranked #5.

By the time Southwest Conference play began in 1983, Texas was the conference's dominant team. They entered the tournament with an 8-0 conference record and a #3 ranking. They won the tournament with a combined margin of 101 points and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament. They hosted their first game that year, a first round win over Louisville, and then advanced to the Regional Championship which they lost to #1 seed and eventual runner-up Louisiana Tech. For the season, Conradt was named conference and WBCA National Coach of the Year Award of the year, her first time winning either award and Annette Smith was named the Conference player of the year.

In 1984 and 1985 Texas again went undefeated in Southwest Conference play, won the conference tournament and went into the NCAA Tournament with the No. 1 ranking according in the AP poll, but failed to win the national championship in either year. In 1984, after going 30-2 and despite being the #1 ranked team they were a #2 seed in the tournament. They hosted Drake in the first round but after suffering knee injuries to five key players, including injuries to center Annette Smith so severe she was in rehabilitation for well over a year, they lost to Louisiana Tech in the Regional Championships on Tech's home court again. In 1985, they went 28–3, but were upset by a buzzer beating shot by Western Kentucky, and lost 92–90 in the Mideast Regional semifinals. Conradt again won conference coach of the year honors in each season while Smith was Conference Player of the Year in 1984 and Fran Harris was in 1985.

1986 would end differently. They started the season by winning the Texas Classic and the Orange Bowl Invitational pre-season tournaments. Then they again went undefeated in conference play, won the Southwest Conference championship and finished the season ranked #1, but instead of making an early exit, they went on to win every single game, achieving a record of 34–0 and won the National Championship. They posted the first undefeated season in women's basketball during the NCAA era (since 1982), the first in NCAA basketball since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers and one of 10 undefeated season in women's college basketball overall as of 2025. Conradt won her 4th straight conference coach of the year award, and her second, and final, WBCA National Coach of the Year Award (her 3rd time winning National Coach of the Year). Meanwhile, for the 4th time in a row a Longhorn, Kamie Ethridge, was named as Conference Player of the Year. Ethridge was also an All-American (again) who won the Conference Female Athlete of the Year of the award, the Wade Trophy for best upperclass women's basketball player in the NCAA, the Honda Sports Award for the nation's best collegiate female basketball athlete and the Honda-Broderick Cup for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (the only Longhorn to ever win the award).

The 1986-87 season saw the previous year's NCAA Final Four MVP Clarissa Davis and 1988 Olympian Andrea Lloyd lead the team to their 5th straight undefeated Southwest Conference season and conference championship and then back to the Final Four, hosted in Austin. The Lady Longhorns fell in the national semifinals, 70-67, to nemesis Louisiana Tech. Conradt won Conference Coach of the year for the 5th time in a row, Lloyd was named conference Player of the Year and Davis was named the Naismith National Player of the Year.

Davis suffered a knee injury in the 1987-88 season, limiting her to action in just nine games, but behind the play of Southwest Conference Player of the Year Yulonda Wimbish the team rallied for another undefeated Southwest Conference championship season, SWC Tournament title, and No. 1 national seed in the NCAAs. Again, it was Louisiana Tech that ended the Longhorns' season — in Austin — with an 83-80 win in the Elite Eight.

Two recruiting arrivals in the fall of 1988 and fall of 1989 brought hopes that Texas would return to the Final Four: Catarina Pollini, a highly touted, 6-foot-5 European standout, and Vicki Hall, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, joining the program before the 1988–89 season. Pollini, a junior transfer, suffered a knee injury and missed 12 games in 1988-89 before returning to limited action. At that time, an obscure NCAA rule revealed that if she played past her March 16 birthday that season, it would be considered an additional year of eligibility. Opting to help Davis in her senior season, the team won the Southwest Conference Championship again and, as a #2 seed, reached the Elite Eight in the Austin Regional in 1989 where it fell to Maryland 79–71. Davis became the most decorated player in school history winning several National Player of the Year awards, including the Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy and player of the year awards for the WBCA and USBWA and was named an All-American again.

In the fall of 1989, the state of Texas' top recruit in years, Sheryl Swoopes arrived on campus, only to leave due to homesickness before classes started. Swoopes would go on to lead Texas Tech to the 1993 NCAA Championship as Final Four MVP and Naismith College Player of the Year. As for Hall, she earned SWC Freshman of the Year honors in 1989–90 and was Texas' leading scorer the next season as Texas managed a 15-1 finish in Southwest Conference play—including a road loss to Arkansas that ended a streak of 132 conference wins. The Longhorns beat Texas Tech in the SWC Tournament championship game to win their 8th straight championship and, as a #3 seed, they again made it the Elite Eight where they lost to #1 seed Louisiana Tech in Austin 71-57.

In the 1990-91 season, Texas' dominance of the Southwest Conference came to an end. Texas lost two games during the season and finished 2nd in the regular season standings behind Arkansas. During the conference championship they failed to make the championship game after being upset by Swoopes and Texas Tech. Seeded #7 and playing at home, they were upset by Lamar in the first round of the 1991 NCAA tournament. It was their worst performance in the Southwest Conference and NCAA Tournament since both had begun.

Against Missouri State in the opening game of the 1991–92 season, Hall tore her left ACL. Texas finished 11–3 in conference play (Arkansas had departed for the SEC) and fell to Texas Tech in the SWC Tournament championship game. The Longhorns' opening game in the NCAA Tournament's round of 32, where they were a #4 seed, saw them fall to UCLA 72–71.

In the 1992-93 season Texas again finished 2nd in the SWC regular season and was runner up in the tournament, finishing behind eventual National Champion Texas Tech in both. They were a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but for the 6th time in 11 years their tournament ended with a loss to Louisiana Tech, this time being upset by the #6 seed.

In 1993-94 the Longhorns finished in 3rd in the regular season, the first time they were not in the top 2 since Southwest Conference play started. But in the tournament they upset #2 seed Texas A&M and #1 seed Texas Tech to win the tournament. It was the Longhorns last Southwest Conference Championship. They were a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to #4 Seton Hall in the 2nd Round.

The 1994-95 season was a low-point for Texas. It was the team's first ever season with a losing record. Texas went 12-16, the worst record by a Conradt-coached team ever, and failed to make it to a post-season tournament for the first time ever. They pulled off an upset of Texas A&M in the conference tournament, but then lost to #2 seed SMU in the semifinals.

the 1995-96 season, the last of the Southwest Conference, was a bounce back for Texas. They won the Southwest Conference's regular season title and were the #1 seed in the conference tournament, but they were upset by Texas A&M in the 2nd round. They lost to #4 seed Kansas in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Conradt was named Southwest Conference Coach of the year for a record 6th time.

In 1996, Texas moved to the Big 12. In their first season in the Big 12 (1996-97), Texas finished the regular season as the conference runner-up and ranked #14 heading into the Big 12 Tournament where they were upset by 3rd seed Colorado. Texas hosted their first two-round games as the #3 Seed in the tournament, but made a 2nd round exit after being upset by 6th seed Notre Dame.

1997-98 was another down year for the Horns. They finished 7th in the Big 12, were upset by #10 seed A&M in the first round of the conference tournament and failed to make the post-season for only the 2nd time.

In 1998-99, Texas improved over the prior year, finishing 4th in the Big 12. But they were upset by 5th seed Nebraska in the 2nd round of the Big 12 Tournament and lost to Auburn in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.

1999-2000 was a mixed bag of a season powered by All-American Edwina Brown. They finished 6th in the Big 12, but after upsets of #3 seed Oklahoma and #2 seed Texas Tech they made it to the Conference Championship game where they lost to #1 seed Iowa State. Brown was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. But at the NCAA Championship they again made an early exit after an upset loss to St. Joseph's. Brown won the Wade Trophy as the best upperclass women's basketball player in NCAA Division 1, making Texas the second school to win three awards after Louisiana Tech.

In 2000-01, Texas continued to be in the middle of the conference. They finished 7th in the regular season, were eliminated by #2 seed Texas Tech in the 2nd round of the conference tournament and was upset by Saint Mary's in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Texas finished the 2001-02 season ranked at #14 and in 5th place in the Big 12. They made a first-round exit from the conference tournament after being upset by 12th seed Kansas, but made a run in the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Duke in the Sweet 16. It was the Longhorns first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1990.

2002-03 represented the last, best year of Conradt's run. Behind the play of 3rd Team All-American Stacy Stephens, Texas won both its first Big 12 regular season Championship and its first Big 12 Conference Championship and finished the season ranked #5. They entered the NCAA Tournament as a #2 seed and upset #1 seed LSU to get to its first Final Four since 1987. They lost in the Final Four to eventual champion UConn in a close 71-69 loss that Texas led by as much as 9 at one point and as late as the last 2:02. Conradt was named Big 12 Coach of the year for the first time.

Conradt won her last conference coach of the year award for the 2003-2004 season which started with an upset victory over then #2 Duke at the tip-off classic. That year Texas, powered by Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year Tiffany Jackson and 2nd Team All-American Stacy Stephens, tied for the regular season conference championship and was upset by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship. At the NCAA tournament, Texas was a #1 seed and Conradt led the team to the Sweet 16, where the Longhorns were upset by LSU, for the last time during her career.

Conradt's last NCAA tournament appearance came at the end of the 2004-2005 season. The Longhorns finished 2nd in the Big 12 regular season and were upset by Kansas State in the conference semifinals. In the tournament, the Longhorns were a #3 seed but were knocked out early by #6 Georgia.

In Conradt's penultimate season, the team suffered through only the 3rd losing season in school history. In 2005-06 they finished 8th in the Big 12 and ended the season by being upset by Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.

In Conradt's final season, the team improved only slightly over their 2005-06 performance, despite having the #1 recruiting class in the country. The Longhorns finished with a winning record and in 7th place in the conference. They made it to the 2nd round of the conference tournament where they were beat by #2 seed Oklahoma. In the first round game, Conradt recorded her 900th career win. A few days later, they were not invited to any of the post-season tournaments marking the first and only time in school history, that Texas sat out the post-season for 2 years in a row. A few days after the tournament selections were announced, Conradt retired from coaching and took a job as special assistant to the Women's Athletic Director.

Within a month of Conradt's retirement, the Longhorns hired Duke basketball coach Gail Goestenkors as the new head coach. She led the Longhorns to five straight NCAA tournaments, while also serving as Assistant Coach of the gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team, but quit in 2012 citing fatigue.

After a 22-13 debut season, she led the Longhorns to an upset of Baylor in the 2008 Big 12 Tournament before losing to Oklahoma State in the semi-finals and then in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament to #1 seed UConn. The first round win over Minnesota was the only NCAA tournament win during her 5 years at Texas.

In 2008-09, Texas went 21-12 and finished ranked #25 in the AP Poll and 6th in the Big 12. They were beat by Iowa State in the 2nd Round of the Big 12 Tournament and then upset by #11 seed Mississippi State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 2009-10 season was the best of the Goestenkors era. Texas tied for 4th in the Big 12 and finished the season ranked #17/#25. They made it to the 2nd Round of the Big 12 Tournament but were then upset by San Diego State, at home, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Goestenkors final two seasons were practically carbon copies. In each year, Texas finished 7th in the Big 12, was a #9 seed in the NCAA tournament and lost in the first round. The only difference was in 2011 they won their first game in the Big 12 tournament to reach the quarterfinals.

Immediately after the 2012 season ended Goestenkors resigned, saying she was tired and needed to step away from basketball. She had two years left on her contract. She was 102-64 at Texas.

The Karen Aston era at Texas seemed to get off to a good start when Texas beat #14 St. John's in their first game of the 2012-13 season, but it was all downhill from there. The Longhorns went on to post a 12-18 record, for the worst winning percentage in school history. They finished tied for 8th in the Big 12 and then lost to Kansas State in the first round of the conference tournament.

Texas greatly improved in the 2013-14 season. They won 22 games, finished 3rd in the conference and made it the conference tournament semi-finals where they lost to regular season conference runner-up West Virginia. They then advanced to the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 6 years, where they lost a close one to #4 seed Maryland.

The 2014-15 Longhorns again showed improvement over the prior year in what was arguably their best season in a decade. Winning 24 games they again finished 3rd in the conference but this time they pulled off an upset over #2 Oklahoma to advance to the Tournament Championship game where they lost to #1 seed Baylor. A #5 seed in the NCAA tournament, they survived a scare by Western Kentucky and then upset California to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004. They lost to eventual national champion UConn and finished the season ranked #22.

Texas improved again in 2015-16 for their best season under coach Aston. They won 31 games, the most since 1987-88 and posted their best winning percentage since then as well. They came in 2nd in the Big 12 in the regular season, their best conference finish since 2004-05, and they were again the runner-up in the tournament to Baylor. After easy wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament over Alabama State and Missouri, Texas had to mount a 10-point come-from behind victory over #3 Seed UCLA to get to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2002-03. In the Elite 8 they were beaten by eventual national champion UConn, for the 2nd year in a row, and finished the season ranked #7.

In 2016-17 the Longhorns won 25 games and again finished in 2nd place in the Big 12, but they did not get a rematch with Baylor as they were upset by eventual champion West Virginia in the Conference Tournament Semifinals. They made it the Sweet 16 for the 3rd year in a row, the first time they'd done that since the 2002-2004 stretch, but they couldn't get past #2 seed Stanford. They finished the season ranked #14 and Aston was named Big 12 Women's College Basketball Coach of the year and Brooke McCarty was named conference player of the year.

For the 3rd straight year, the Longhorns finished 2nd to Baylor in the Big 12 - this time after winning 28 games in 2017-18. This time they did meet Baylor in the Championship game, but again they came up short. They were a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament but made an early exit after being upset by #3 seed UCLA. They finished the season ranked in the top 10 in both polls for the last time under Aston.