The Texas Longhorns beat the East Carolina Pirates 79-40 in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team left no doubt who was the better team Saturday night at the Moody Center, defeating East Carolina 79-40 in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Texas, seeded No. 4 in the second Seattle Regional, held the 13-seeded Pirates to single-digit marks in three of the four quarters and shredded a top-ranked Pirates defense. East Carolina entered the game allowing 56 points per game, No. 22 in the country, and forcing 24.16 turnovers per game, No. The Pirates have also held opponents to 37.2% shooting this season, but simply couldn’t handle the Longhorns.
Texas committed 16 turnovers in the game and shot 54% for the game while playing tough defense themselves. The Longhorns held the Pirates to 18% shooting and 0-of-5 from 3-point range. Eastern Carolina had five assists on 10 field goals while Texas had 20 assists on 27 field goals. The Pirates scored as many points from the foul line as they did from the field, making 20 of 26 free throws.
Shaylee Gonzales led the way for Texas with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds. She eclipsed 2,000 career points between this season at Texas and the previous three years at Brigham Young University. Rori Harmon dished out 12 assists and scored six points while DeYona Gaston had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Texas shot 50% from 3-point range, sinking 5 of 10 attempts.
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“We played really well tonight,” Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said. “Rori managed our team like a point guard should, he had a good transition and we were interested in defense. It was great for me.
Longhorns forward Taylor Jones eclipsed 1,000 career points in his collegiate career between Texas and Oregon State with a fourth quarter bucket. He finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Texas scored 40 points in the paint to East Carolina’s 16.
The Longhorns trailed by just 17 seconds into the game after an East Carolina bucket with 7:39 left in the first quarter. Khadija Faye scored to put Texas up 5-4 at 7:39 of the first quarter, and the Longhorns led the rest of the way. Faye scored eight of the Longhorns’ first 10 points.
Texas outscored East Carolina 44-30, including 29-11 on defensive glass. Oddly, the Pirates had more offensive rebounds than Texas at 19-15. Texas scored 21 points on 17 East Carolina turnovers and the Pirates converted 17 Texas turnovers into just eight points. The Longhorns bench outscored East Carolina 26-7.
Texas senior guard Sonya Morris had her first action since late February after a leg injury. She played 13 minutes and scored four points and two rebounds.
East Carolina was the first non-No. 1 seed to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament in order to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates finished third in the regular season and won 23 games, the most for the program since 2010. East Carolina head coach Kim McNeill said the loss will “make these kids hungrier.”
“We’ve learned what it takes to be successful at this level,” he said. “This won’t be the last time you see East Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, I promise.”
The Longhorns will play the fifth seed in Louisville in the second round on Monday at the Moody Center. The teams played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas on November 20 with Louisville winning 71-63. Harmon was out with a foot injury at the time, and of course both teams are completely different now than they were before Thanksgiving 2022.
