Texas women's hoops riding "off the chart" chemistry to Final Four

State of play: Led by their do-everything forward, Madison Booker, and their resilient guard, Rori Harmon, UT faces UCLA at 8:30pm Friday on ESPN.

• Texas beat UCLA by 11 points in November.

By the numbers: Booker has scored 90 points through the first four games of this year's NCAA Tournament.

• UT is riding a 12-game winning streak.

Yes, but: All the Final Four teams are No. 1 seeds with similar stellar resumes and tournament experience to boot.

What they're saying: "I don't think you can say too much more about our kids other than they have absolutely played their hearts out," Vic Schaefer, the team's animated head coach, told reporters after a 77-41 blowout victory against second-seeded Michigan on Sunday.

• "Their chemistry is off the chart right now. They're playing for each other. They're having fun. We have really good leadership right now, and this is what happens when you have all that come together."

What's next: If the Longhorns win, they'll face the winner of South Carolina and Connecticut on Sunday at 2:30pm. The games are being played in Phoenix.

• UConn, the New York Yankees of women's college basketball, is the odds-on favorite to repeat as champions.

The intrigue: The same four teams played in last year's Final Four, with UConn besting South Carolina — which had beaten UT in the semifinals.

The big picture: Texas women's basketball has a storied history, but has long labored in the shadow of the football and men's basketball teams.

• Attendance at women's games has long lagged behind men's games. This season, though, they were nearing parity. Women's games at the Moody Center averaged 9,258 fans; men's games, 10,835.

The bottom line: Schaefer has led the Longhorns out of the wilderness, and now the squad is poised for championship greatness.