After an upsetting conference opener against Baylor the week prior, No. 10 Texas women’s basketball redeemed themselves with a 74-47 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on Wednesday.
The matchup started with slow back and forth scoring between the Longhorns and the Red Raiders until Texas dominated in a 13 point unanswered run. The Longhorns created opportunities with their offensive rebounding with 42 compared to Tech’s 24, forcing 25 total Texas Tech turnovers and successful transition plays.
With one of Texas’ leading scorers, junior guard Rori Harmon, recently announced out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, the Longhorns had major shoes to fill on the court. Freshman forward Madison Booker and graduate guard Shaylee Gonzales answered that call.
Booker, who played more of a guard position for the matchup, finished off the game with 18 points, tied for leading scorer, while Gonzales acted well as a point guard taking the ball down the court and getting past the tough Texas Tech defense.
Backdoor plays deemed important to the Texas offense in creating numerous scoring opportunities and using junior forward Aaliyah Moore at the block. Moore finished off with a double-double, leading with both 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior forward DeYona Gaston was also able to come up with her first double-double of the season with 17 and 11 rebounds.
Both Gonzales and senior guard Shay Holle ended with six points, two rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Khadija Faye also had a good game with five points, one rebound, one steal and strong defense in her only 10 minutes of playing time.
The Texas defense was also on point with intense ball pressure, making Texas Tech work to stay in the game. The Longhorns held off the Red Raiders to 33.3% shooting across the court in comparison to their own 46.7% in field goal range and an inefficient 12.5% from the 3-point line, making one out of only eight attempts.
The only major threat Texas saw from the Tech team was sophomore guard Bailey Maupin, who finished out with 16 points, the only Red Raider to get to double digits.
Texas seemed to be a bit more capable without Harmon on the court than their first conference matchup and will next take on their third-ranked opponent this season, No. 24 West Virginia, on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in Morgantown, West Virginia.
