Texas women’s basketball put on a show in front of fans for the first time this season in Tuesday’s Orange-White Scrimmage held at Moody Center.
Following an early exit from the NCAA tournament, losing to Louisville in the second round, Texas players took the offseason as time to improve, with two players even winning international gold medals.
The scrimmage was set to consist of 20 minutes of orange versus white team competition and 20 minutes versus the male practice players, but due to an early injury to DeYona Gaston, head coach Vic Schaefer opted on doing three quarters versus the practice players to avoid possible substitution problems.
“When you’re going against each other, everybody knows what you’re running,” Schaefer said. “They all know your offense, so that’s a challenge in itself.”
The orange team stood out in the first quarter, taking a 17-8 lead with strong performances by graduate student guard Shaylee Gonzales, who was responsible for two three-pointers. Starting in the second quarter, the two teams combined in a matchup against the male practice players, who took the title of “white team”.
“Everybody probably looks a lot better with Rori (Harmon) and Shaylee out there,” Schaefer said. “But I also think Madison (Booker) is very good at handling point (guard) if I need to get Rori out. Everybody wants to know who’s going to give (Rori) some time when she needs to go to the bench, and I think everybody saw tonight Madison can certainly handle that.”
In a team mostly consisting of veterans, freshman forward Madison Booker stood out. The highly-rated recruit lived up to the excitement around her name, scoring the first three-pointer of her Texas career in her Moody Center debut.
“She’s just smooth,” Schaefer said. “The game comes easy to her. She’s really skilled and talented. She’s cerebral; she knows the game.”
The game ended in a 72-61 victory for the orange team.
“I think turnovers will be our main focus,” senior forward Shay Holle said. “I thought we looked pretty good on defense. The guys are really quick, but I thought we looked pretty good overall.”
Schaefer highlighted performances by senior forward Taylor Jones, freshman guard Gisella Maul and Harmon, who Scahefer said “is always going to be Rori.”
In preparation for this season, the team has worked hard, getting to practice at least an hour early and staying late.
“I think that just shows everyone’s commitment to this team,” Holle said. “We’re all working toward the same goal, and part of that is you have to put in time outside of practice.”
Texas will host Midwestern State for an exhibition game Nov. 2 ahead of the start of the 2023 season against Southern University at Moody Nov. 8.
“Moody Center is so awesome,” Holle said. “And it’s even better when fans are in it. Just hearing the crowd cheer makes everything a little more exciting.”
