Texas women’s basketball wins Paradise Jam tournament title

After taking care of Louisiana Tech, the Texas women’s basketball team headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands over their Thanksgiving break to play in the Paradise Jam tournament. The Longhorns faced some stiff competition from Arizona State, High Point University and South Florida.

They dominated each team to remain undefeated this season and capture the Paradise Jam title. Sophomore guard Rori Harmon won the Tournament MVP award, and Senior Forward Taylor Jones finished on the All-Tournament Team. Let’s look at each game and see how the Longhorns did in the U.S. Virgin Islands this weekend.

Texas Women’s Basketball: Longhorns vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

The Longhorns kicked off their tournament against the Sun Devils on Thanksgiving Day. They started out of the gate strong, holding the Sun Devils to eight points in the first quarter. The Longhorns would continue to dominate them going into halftime, leading 40-23.

They would continue to hold the Sun Devils under 15 points in the final two quarters to win 84-42. Senior forward Khadija Faye would lead the team with 15 points, and Harmon finished with 14. It was a great start to the Paradise Jam for the Longhorns, but could they continue to dominate their opponents on Friday and Saturday?

Texas Women’s Basketball: Longhorns vs. High Point University Panthers

I actually felt bad for the High Point basketball team in this tournament. They don’t have the caliber of players the other three schools have. The Longhorns basically had a scrimmage against them on Friday as they beat the Panthers 101-39.

Senior guard Shaylee Gonzales led the team with 15 points. This was a great game because the bench got some extended playing time, which is crucial in case one of the starters gets injured and their name gets called to fill in.  I hope that the Panthers take away something from this game. Hopefully, the experience against Texas will help them in conference play this season.

Texas Women’s Basketball: Longhorns vs. South Florida Bulls

The Longhorns would wrap up their tournament run on Saturday against  South Florida University. They held South Florida to seven points and under in each of the first three periods to capture the Paradise Jam title 76-44. Jones and Harmon finished with 15 points each, and freshman forward Madison Booker finished with 12 points.

This win showed how good the Longhorns’ defense will be this season. To hold an opponent to seven points and under for three quarters is pretty impressive. This squad will be impressive when they get to Big 12 play. They return home to take on Oral Roberts at the Moody Center on Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CT for the yearly field trip game. Hopefully, those kids will enjoy the game and become future Longhorns when they graduate high school.