Texas women’s basketball beat the Midwestern State Mustangs in an exhibition game, 124-52, at the Moody Center on Thursday night.
This Texas roster is stacked with a combination of both young and veteran talent. A key factor in the success of this season is how well these players will mesh.
The fast and physical brand of basketball that head coach Vic Shaefer enjoys playing was in full effect. After scoring a basket five seconds into the game, the team went into their full court press defense. Their defense led to Midwestern State committing 25 turnovers.
Senior guard Shay Holle had three steals and says the identity of this team is the defense.
“When we’re playing our best basketball,” Texas senior guard Shay Holle said. “We’re getting turnovers and we’re in transition running.”
The defense led to a plethora of offense. The Longhorns had 34 points off turnovers. The main contributor to the scoring was Taylor Jones, who had a powerful showing down low. Whether she collected a rebound or received a pass from one of her teammates, Midwestern State had no answer for Jones. She ended the night with 22 points and seven rebounds.
This game was all about speed for the Longhorns as they were able to get in transition quickly. Their ability to get down the court led to favorable fast break situations that mostly ended with points in the paint. The team as a whole scored 90 points down low.
Although the Longhorns defeated the Mustangs by 72 points, Schaefer was not happy about his team’s offensive performance. Texas committed 18 turnovers, a number far too high for his liking.
“18 turnovers is way too many, there’s no reason to be turning the ball over,” Schaefer said. “We made some really poor decisions.”
The Longhorns are still not at full strength missing two key members of the team. Junior forward Aaliyah Moore and senior forward DeYona Gaston did not participate in the exhibition. Last week in the Orange and White Scrimmage, Gaston came down awkwardly and had to be carried off the court. Today it was announced that she suffered a sprained ankle. For now, it looks like Moore will be sidelined for an extended amount of time.
“(Moore) was cleared yesterday for a full practice,” Schaefer said. “(She) won’t be cleared for action for a while.”
Gaston, on the other hand, is anxious to get back out on the court.
“She’s probably 10 days, she actually wasn’t even walking with a crutch today, just the boot which is really good,” Schaefer said.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday night against Southern for its season opener.
