The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Basketball’s Vic Schaefer named Big 12 Coach of the Year
03.06.2023 | Women's Basketball
Rori Harmon earns Defensive Player of the Year and Shaylee Gonzales Newcomer of the Year.
IRVING, Texas — Four University of Texas players earned spots on the 2022-23 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Award teams, the league office announced Monday. The official All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league's head coaches, and the coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Rori Harmon and DeYona Gaston earned All-Big 12 First Team honors and Shaylee Gonzales earned an All-Big 12 Second Team selection. Harmon earned the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Award and a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Gonzales earned the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Award. Amina Muhammad earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Head Coach Vic Schaefer was selected the conference coach of the year honoree.
Schaefer becomes the third coach in program history to win conference coach of the year accolades. After replacing four starters from the 2021-22 team and facing numerous injuries, Schaefer has guided the Longhorns to their first regular season conference championships since the 2004 season. This season the Longhorns have had a combined 45 games missed by starters due to injury. In three seasons in Austin, Schaefer has taken Texas to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances, a Big 12 Tournament Championship and a Big 12 regular season championship.
Harmon is the third player in program history to earn the Defensive Player of the Year Award and first since Brianna Taylor in 2017. Harmon ranked second in the conference in steals per game and led the Longhorns in charges taken with 29. Harmon is one of two players in NCAA DI women's basketball this season to average at least 11.9 points per game, 7.2 assists per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. Harmon ranks fourth in the NCAA this season in assists per game. Harmon is a finalist for the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Award.
Gaston is one of the most improved players in the Big 12 this season. In conference action Gaston has averaged 13.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field. For the season Gaston ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 53.1 percent. Gaston has increased her scoring average by seven points per game this season, the fourth largest jump by a player in the conference. Gaston has five games this season that she has scored 20 or more points for the Longhorns.
In her first season in Austin, Shaylee Gonzales has made an immediate impact. Gonzales has come on strong in conference play with a 14.1 points per game average, while shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range. Gonzales has scored in double-figures in 22 games this season with 20 or more points in four games. Gonzales posted a season-high 26 points in the Longhorns win vs. Kansas on Jan. 10. In addition to scoring Gonzales is averaging 4.4 rebounds and has 47 assists, 28 steals and eight blocks in conference games. Gonzales is the fourth player in program history to earn the conference Newcomer of the Year award and first since Jamie Carey in 2003.
Amina Muhammad has played an important role on the Texas team this season. After leading her DeSoto High School team to back-to-back state championships, Muhammad has provided depth for the Longhorns this season. Muhammad has averaged 3.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Muhammad has tallied three double-figure rebounding games this season. Muhammad posted a season-high 14 points in the Texas win against Rutgers and grabbed 11 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds at Iowa State.
No. 12/17 Texas (23-8, 14-4) is the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship. The Longhorns will open play in a quarterfinal-round contest against either No. 8 seed Texas Tech or No. 9 seed Kansas State on Friday, March 10 at 1:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and will be played at Municipal Auditorium in Kanas City, Mo.
