The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
No. 5/7 Women’s Basketball preview: UTRGV
12.19.2023 | Women's Basketball
#5/7 Texas (11-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UTRGV (0-9, 0-0 WAC)
Game 12
Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 PM CT
Bert Ogden Arena | Edinburg, Texas
ESPN+
GameDay Quick Facts
TELEVISION: The game will be on ESPN+. Jonah Goldberg (pxp) and Bryan Smith (analyst) will call the action. There will also be a spanish broadcast on Televisa with Luis Rubio and Hector Zapata on the call.
RADIO: All women's basketball games will air in Austin on 103.1 FM, along with the web streams on TexasSports.com and the Longhorn App. Craig Way will call the action on Wednesday night.
Notables
• BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second time this season Texas point guard Rori Harmon was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday.
• THE WIN OVER UCONN: The Longhorns took down UConn for the first time in program history, 80-68 on Dec. 3 in the Jimmy V Women's Classic. Rori Harmon scored 27 points and dished out 13 assists. Harmon became the first player in 25 seasons to tally at least 25 points and 10 assists against UConn.
• HARMON/BOOKER BIG 12/NATIONAL AWARDS: Rori Harmon and Madison Booker earned Big 12 and national awards last week. Harmon was the Big 12 Player of the Week and Booker the Big 12 Freshman of the Week. Harmon was one of five honorees of the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week presented by the USABW. Harmon was also selected the Associated Press National Player of the Week. Booker earned Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week honors from the USABW.
• SHAYLEE HOMECOMING: Shaylee Gonzales played in front of over 50 family and friends in the Longhorns game at Arizona on Dec. 13. Gonzales scored nine points in the third quarter on a trio of 3-point field goals and had 12 second half points to help lift Texas to victory.
• RORI BEING RORI: Texas All-American point guard Rori Harmon is currently the only DI women's basketball player that is averaging at least 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals per game this season. Harmon is second in the country in assist/TO ratio at 6.07. Harmon comes into the game Wednesday needing seven assists to record her 500thcareer assist. Harmon would become the fifth player in program history to reach 500 and the fastest in program history to get to the milestone.
• GETTING TO THE FREE-THROW LINE: This season Texas has made more free-throws (158) than their opponents have attempted (157).
• HORNS ON D: Last season the Longhorns were 22-0 when they held an opponent to 59 points or less. In the 2023-24 season Texas ranks fifth in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game at 24.73. Texas ranks first in the NCAA in turnover margin and are outscoring opponents 344-98 in points off turnovers.
• ON THE BOARDS: The Longhorns are +15.8 in rebounding margin this season and have a 213-63 advantage in second chance points. Texas is giving up only 5.7 second chance points per game. The Longhorns rank eighth in the country in offensive rebounds per game.
• POUNDING THE PAINT: The Longhorns have had a significant post presence this season as they lead opponents 538-272 in paint points.
• JONES COMING UP BIG: Taylor Jones scored a career-high 27 points and tied a school record by going 11-11 from the field in the Longhorns win over Oral Roberts. Jones also grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in the game. Jones ranks second in the country in field goal percentage this season at 71.3 percent.
• WINNING IN PARADISE: The Longhorns went 3-0 in the Virgin Islands to capture the 2023 Paradise Jam Reef Tournament Championship. Rori Harmon was named the tournament MVP as she dished out 15 assists with 0 turnovers. Taylor Jones was also named a Tournament All-Star.
• NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS: On Nov. 8 the Longhorns signed what ESPN.Com has ranked as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. The Horns are the only school in the country with two top-10 signees.
• 2023 BIG 12 CHAMPIONS: The Longhorns finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-10 overall record and 14-4 mark in conference play as they claimed the Big 12 regular season championship, their first since 2004. Head Coach Vic Schaefer was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
• PRESEASON HONORS: Texas point guard Rori Harmon was picked by the conference coaches as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and Madison Booker was selected as the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year. Harmon and DeYona Gaston earned spots on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and Shaylee Gonzales and Aaliyah Moore earned preseason honorable mention All-Big 12 selections.
