The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
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University of South Florida
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No. 12/11 Women’s Basketball captures Paradise Jam Reef Tournament Championship
11.25.2023 | Women's Basketball
Rori Harmon earned tournament MVP honors for the Longhorns.
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — The Texas women's basketball team completed a 3-0 week with a 76-44 win over South Florida in the championship game of the Paradise Jam Reef Tournament on Saturday.
The Longhorns improved to 7-0 to match their best start since the 2018-19 season. This is the second time Texas has won the Paradise Jam, with the first being in 2001.
Rori Harmon earned tournament MVP honors. Over the three games Harmon scored 34 points, including 15 in the championship game against South Florida. Harmon tallied 15 assists over the three games of the tournament with 0 turnovers.
Taylor Jones earned a spot on the Tournament All-Star team along with Harmon. Jones scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the championship game against South Florida.
Madison Booker scored 12 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda came off the bench and added 10 points and three assists.
Texas led 21-6 after the first quarter and Aaliyah Moore intercepted a South Florida pass and dribbled all the way down and put in a layup to give the Longhorns a 30-6 lead early in the second quarter. The layup was part of a 14-0 run for the Longhorns.
Up next the Longhorns return to Austin to host Oral Roberts on Wednesday, Nov. 29. That game will start at 11:00 a.m. CT at Moody Center.
Postgame notes
• The Longhorns improved to 7-0 on the season, their best start since they started 7-0 in the 2018-19 season.
• Texas won the Paradise Jam for the second time in program history. The first time came in 2001.
• Rori Harmon moved in sixth place on the Texas all-time list for career assists. Harmon now has 455.
• The Longhorn shot 51.8 percent from the field over the three games of the tournament. Texas scored an average of 87 points per game and held opponents to 41.7 points per game.
• Texas held a 36-12 advantage over USF in points in the paint. For the season the Longhorns lead opponents in points in the paint 348-152.
• The Longhorns held USF to single digits in three of the four quarters. For the season Texas has held their opponent to single digits in a quarter 12 times over seven games.
