The ABCs of Austin's first- and second-round NCAA Women's Tournament games

Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman

This weekend, Moody Center is one of 16 locations hosting first- and second-round games in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. In Friday's first round, No. 1 seed Texas (30-4) will play No. 16 Drexel (19-14) before No. 8 Alabama (23-9) battles No. 9 Florida State (23-10). The winners of those games will return to Moody on Sunday for a Round of 32 showdown.

How do you find out what you need to know about Alabama, Drexel, Florida State, Texas and the first two rounds of Austin's NCAA Tournament? That's as easy as A-B-C:

A is for assist/turnover ratio

Regarding assist-to-turnover ratio, Texas ranks 25th out of 349 Division I teams at 1.2. Drexel is 35th (1.16) and Florida State is 47th (1.12). There are 143 teams faring better in this category than Alabama (0.88).

B is for Booker

Over the past month, Texas star freshman Madison Booker has earned Associated Press All-American status, has been named the Big 12's co-player of the year and has won the Big 12 Tournament's most outstanding player award. She's averaging 16.9 points, 4.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

C is for Crimson Tide

This is Alabama's 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After finishing in a fourth-place tie in the Southeastern Conference, the Crimson Tide received an at-large bid.

Drexel guard Amaris Baker shoots over Stony Brook defenders during their Coastal Conference Tournament championship game in Washington on Sunday. The Dragons, seeded seventh for their conference tournament, won four games in four days to win the title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Drexel guard Amaris Baker shoots over Stony Brook defenders during their Coastal Conference Tournament championship game in Washington on Sunday. The Dragons, seeded seventh for their conference tournament, won four games in four days to win the title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

D is for Dragons

The Drexel Dragons are making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Seeded seventh in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament, Drexel won four times in a four-day span to book its trip to Austin.

E is for Elite Eight

A Vic Schaefer-coached team has reached the Elite Eight round in five of the past six NCAA Tournaments. Schaefer's Mississippi State teams were elite from 2017 to 2019, and Texas went four rounds deep in 2021 and 2022.

Bohls:Texas coach Vic Schaefer has one glaring hole left on his resume to fill — a national title

F is for first team

This weekend in Austin features four players who earned a first-team nod on their all-conference team: Booker in the Big 12, Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson and Makayla Timpson in the ACC, and Alabama's Sarah Ashlee Barker in the SEC.

G is for Gonzales

This will be the fifth NCAA Tournament in which UT senior guard Shaylee Gonzales will be a starter. In seven tournament games at BYU and Texas, she has averaged 16.6 points, and she had a 32-point game against Stanford in 2019.

Texas forward Taylor Jones blocks a layup attempt by Texas Tech guard Loghan Johnson during the Longhorns' win at Moody Center on Feb. 21. Jones is one of three 6-footers that top-seeded Texas is likely to start Friday.
Texas forward Taylor Jones blocks a layup attempt by Texas Tech guard Loghan Johnson during the Longhorns' win at Moody Center on Feb. 21. Jones is one of three 6-footers that top-seeded Texas is likely to start Friday.

H is for height

Drexel plays one Dragon who's taller than 6 feet. Texas has five 6-footers averaging more than 15 minutes per game, and three of them — the 6-1 Booker, 6-1 Aaliyah Moore and 6-4 Taylor Jones — are likely to start Friday.

I is for international

Outside of the United States, six countries will be represented at Moody Center: Australia (Drexel's Chloe Hodges), Canada (Drexel's Clara Bergeron and Sira Ba), Finland (Florida State's Sara Bejedi), Mexico (Florida State's Mariana Valenzuela), Senegal (Texas' Khadija Faye) and Spain (Florida State's Lucia Navarro and Carla Viegas).

J is for Jones

Jones leads Texas with 56 blocks. She won't be the most prolific shot-stuffer in Austin, though. Only nine players in Division I have blocked more shots than Florida State's Timpson, who has 84.

K is for knee

Alabama announced Monday that junior guard Jessica Timmons, who has started 30 times and is averaging 11.2 points, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury she sustained in the SEC Tournament.

It's been a big month for Madison Booker, right. The Texas point guard was named the Big 12's co-player of the year and freshman of the year. She won most outstanding player honors while leading the Longhorns to the Big 12 Tournament championship and is about to play in her first NCAA Tournament.
It's been a big month for Madison Booker, right. The Texas point guard was named the Big 12's co-player of the year and freshman of the year. She won most outstanding player honors while leading the Longhorns to the Big 12 Tournament championship and is about to play in her first NCAA Tournament.

L is for Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns are making their 36th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and UT won the national title in 1986. Texas finished second in the Big 12 this season before winning the conference tournament.

M is for meeting

Friday's game will be the first meeting between Texas and Drexel. Alabama and Florida State have split their 10 all-time meetings, but the two schools last played in 2010.

N is for Nye

Joining Iowa's Caitlin Clark (173) and Syracuse's Dyaisha Fair (107), Alabama's Aaliyah Nye is one of the three Division I players who have made at least 100 3-pointers this season. Nye's 104 3s are already a school record.

O is for offensive rebounding

The leading offensive rebounders for each team? Florida State's Timpson (3.3 offensive rebounds per game), Alabama forward Essence Cody (2.6), Texas forward Amina Muhammad (2.2) and Drexel forward Jasmine Valentine (1.6)

P is for points

The single-game highs this season for points for Texas, Drexel, Alabama and Florida State are 112, 72, 99 and 110. The single-game lows for Texas, Drexel, Alabama and Florida State are 58, 35, 44 and 43. Florida State is coming off its season-low scoring performance.

Q is for quarter

As far as margin of victory goes, the first quarter is the best for Texas (+281 points), Alabama (+137), Florida State (+120) and Drexel (+75).

Alabama coach Kristy Curry leads the Crimson Tide during an SEC Tournament game against Texas A&M on March 8. The Crimson Tide received an at-large NCAA bid after finishing fourth in the SEC.
Alabama coach Kristy Curry leads the Crimson Tide during an SEC Tournament game against Texas A&M on March 8. The Crimson Tide received an at-large NCAA bid after finishing fourth in the SEC.

R is for reunion

If Texas runs into Alabama in the second round, coach Kristy Curry will be matched up against one of her former players. Texas assistant Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton played for Curry at Purdue in 2004-06.

S is for Seminoles

The Florida State Seminoles are making their 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. An at-large invitee that finished fifth in the ACC standings, Florida State last missed the NCAA Tournament in 2012. Only seven teams — Tennessee (42), Stanford (36), UConn (35), Baylor (20), Louisville (13), Maryland (13) and South Carolina (12) — have a longer active streak.

T is for Texas

Five teams from Texas qualified for the NCAA Tournament: No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Baylor, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 14 Rice and No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Thirty-four states are represented in the bracket, and California and Tennessee also qualified five teams.

U is for underdog

In the history of the NCAA Tournament, only one No. 16 seed has ever reached the second round (Harvard in 1998). According to the NCAA, one No. 8 seed (Missouri State in 1992) and one No. 9 (Arkansas in 1998) have gotten as far as the Final Four. None of those seeds has won an NCAA title.

V is for Villanova

Drexel guard Brooke Mullin started last season for a Villanova team that reached the Sweet 16. As a graduate transfer, Mullin is averaging 10.3 points and has distributed a team-high 123 assists.

W is for Westlake

Texas guard Shay Holle and Florida State guard Brianna Turnage both attended a Westlake High. An Austin native, Holle was named to the Big 12's all-defensive team this season. An Atlanta native, Turnage has grabbed the second-most rebounds among the Seminoles.

Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson goes up for a shot against Notre Dame during their Jan. 26 matchup in South Bend, Ind. Latson has led the Seminoles into the NCAA Tournament, where they will open Friday against Alabama.
Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson goes up for a shot against Notre Dame during their Jan. 26 matchup in South Bend, Ind. Latson has led the Seminoles into the NCAA Tournament, where they will open Friday against Alabama.

X is for X factors

Texas is 30-2 when leading at halftime and 0-2 when trailing. Drexel is 11-7 after a win. Florida State is 0-4 when it scores fewer than 70 points. Alabama is 13-1 when it has three players score in double figures.

Y is for youth

Both members of their conference's all-freshman teams in 2024, Booker has started 33 times for Texas and Cody has made 32 starts for Alabama. Booker and Cody were ranked 12th and 22nd in ESPN HoopGurlz's recruiting rankings for the class of 2023. No freshman has started a game for Drexel or Florida State this season.

Z is for zeroes

While wearing the 00 jersey, Latson has become one of the nation's most dynamic scorers. Averaging 21.3 points, the 5-8 sophomore guard ranks 13th nationally in scoring. She was 11th last year while also averaging 21.3 points.

Friday's first-round games

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 Drexel, 2 p.m., Moody Center, ESPNU, 103.1; No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 9 Florida State, 4:30 p.m., Moody Center, ESPN2, 103.1

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: NCAA Women's Tournament guide: Texas, Drexel, Florida State, Alabama

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