AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Shaylee Gonzales matched a career high with six 3-pointers while scoring a season-best 21 points, and No. 5 Texas beat Jackson State 97-52 on Wednesday night while playing without star point guard Rori Harmon and leading scorer Taylor Jones.
Harmon missed the game with an unspecified injury. She sat on the Longhorns' bench and walked with a limp.
Freshman forward Madison Booker took over point guard duties, a role she usually performs as a backup, and finished with 16 points, a season-best nine assists and just one turnover in 32 minutes. Khadija Faye scored 14 points for Texas (13-0), and DeYona Gaston had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Andriana Avent led Jackson State (5-6) with 11 points but was just 2 of 12 from the field. Angel Jackson had eight rebounds.
Gonzales finished 6 of 9 from 3-point range. She also had five assists.
Texas shot 57% from the field, including 9 of 16 on 3s.
Jackson State, which has lost five straight, averages 18 offensive rebounds a game, third best in the country. The Tigers grabbed 24 against Texas, but converted them into only 11 points. They shot 24.2% for the game and committed 17 turnovers.
HARMON'S IMPACT
Harmon averages 14.1 points, 7.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds. She ranks second nationally in assists and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 6.64.
Coach Vic Schaefer has advocated repeatedly for Harmon as the top all-around point guard in the country. She provided validation with 27 points, 13 assists and strong defense against UConn star Paige Bueckers during a 80-68 victory against the then-No. 11 Huskies on Dec. 3.
BIG PICTURE
Jackson State: The Tigers' four defeats before facing Texas also were against Power Five schools: Kansas State, Oregon State, Mississippi State and Miami. Jackson State begins Southwestern Athletic Conference competition in January as the favorite to win the league for the fifth straight season as voted by the coaches and sports information directors.
Texas: Jones, who leads the Longhorns in scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.4) and ranks second nationally in field goal percentage (71.3%), missed her second straight game with a hip injury. Schaefer did not have a timetable for her return. The 6-foot-4 junior missed nine games last season with what the team said was a lower-body injury. Jones had shoulder surgery and missed the last 21 games of the 2021-22 season while playing at Oregon State.
UP NEXT
Jackson State: Hosts Alcorn State on Jan. 6 in its SWAC opener.
Texas: Hosts No. 10 Baylor on Saturday in its Big 12 opener.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
