A new era began on Wednesday in Austin, Texas. For the first time since 2012, Karen Aston was not courtside for the Texas women’s basketball team. Vic Schaeffer made his debut as the head coach for Texas. He came over from Mississippi State and the team couldn’t have looked better in his debut.
The Longhorns led from tip-off, after one quarter it was 20-8. By halftime that lead ballooned to 42-22. Early on for the Longhorns, it was sophomore Celeste Taylor leading the charge. Taylor led the team in scoring for much of the game until Charli Collier starting rolling in the second half of this game.
❌ NOT TODAY ❌#TexasFight | @_celeste620 pic.twitter.com/KFh1w344O1
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) November 25, 2020
The Longhorns forced 30 SMU turnovers in this game. Schaeffer stated that they wouldn’t sit back and play zone defense this year. After one game, it appears that he very much wants to put the pressure on offenses. The defense forced 15 steals and eight total blocks in the game. They also outrebounded the Mustangs 39-30, including 21 offensive rebounds.
Quite the start for Schaeffer and company. DeYona Gaston came off the bench and provided a ton of energy for the team. She came close to a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. She also led the team in blocks with five. The Texas women’s basketball team won by 49, 90-51. That was the largest margin of victory for them since 1987.
That year the women’s team finished 32-3. They opened with a 94-34 victory over Northern Arizona.
Final Stats:
| Player | Shooting | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
| Charli Collier | 8-13 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Celeste Taylor | 9-18 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Audrey Warren | 4-11 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| DeYona Gaston | 5-11 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
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