Three observations and a quote from Texas' win over Long Beach State: UT's Gaston returns
Texas defeated Long Beach State 106-62 Wednesday night to move to 10-0 on the season, another comfortable win for coach Vic Schaefer’s program. However, he expressed some displeasure after the game with what he perceived as a lack of focus from his players, showing the high standards to which he holds his team.
“You're going to have these games during finals (week) where they're just out there," Schaefer said. "It just blows my mind how you can go 25 out of 42 at the free-throw line. How do you hold them to 18 points in the first half and then give up 44 in the second?"
Here are three observations and a quote from Texas’ 10th win:
DeYona Gaston is back for the Longhorns
The 2022-23 All Big 12 first-team pick made her season debut and immediately made an impact. The senior forward scored eight points on three shots in only four first-half minutes. Though Gaston came off the bench in the first half, she started the second half, replacing Amina Muhammad.
Texas had already proved its strength with Sunday's win over UConn. Now with the leading scorer from last season back in the lineup, the Longhorns could reach an even higher peak.
“She just brings a different dimension to the team," Schaefer said. “It was just great having her back out there doing what D does,” Schafer said.
Texas' Rori Harmon: Best point guard in the country?
Last year, Texas’ NCAA Tournament run ended with Harmon off the court after being worked to the bone as the only initiator of the offense. With the addition of Madison Booker and some key changes, Harmon has been able to play off the ball more and rest in games like Wednesday night's.
Last season, she averaged nearly 36 minutes. She played only 22 minutes against Long Beach, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Like UConn coach Geno Auriemma, Long Beach State's Amy Wright had some high praise for Harmon, calling her the best point guard in the country.
While Schaefer has agreed in the past, he also pushes for Harmon to live up to that standard.
“You don't let your team have a bad shootaround. You don't throw it all over the gym during shootaround," he said. "She didn't turn it over tonight, which is good because I told her (if) she's out there throwing it around, trust me, the rest of them will do it too."
Size matters, or at least it did Wednesday night
The driving force behind Texas’ win was the fact that Long Beach State simply could not match up with the Longhorns sizewise. Long Beach’s tallest starter, Lovely Sonnier, measured in at 6 feet. Texas post Taylor Jones is 6-4.
Jones was more than happy to do whatever she wanted in the post all night as she collected 21 points and 10 rebounds in only 19 minutes of play. Wright said taking control of the paint was a goal for the game, but Texas scored 54 of its 106 points there.
“Obviously, you know, that was not in our favor tonight,” Wright said.
They said it: Amy Wright describes Texas' unstoppable offense
“Texas, at the end of the day, they're going to be in the Final Four,” Wright said. “They have an orchestra of offense. You can pick the winds, you could pick the trombones, and you could try and shut them both down, but then they got a flute that's just going to go off. And they have the best conductor in the country in Rori Harmon. She is the best point guard in the country, period.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Three observations from Texas women's basketball win over Long Beach
