Texas women's basketball slay the Drexel Dragons in the first round

Texas Women's Basketball kicked off their NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament run against the Drexel Dragons at the Moody Center this afternoon. The Drexel Dragons had a Cinderella run during the CAA Conference Tournament by winning the conference title.

However, their run came to an end today with the Longhorns winning by a final score of 82-42. Here are the three takeaways from the first round win against the Dragons this afternoon.

Texas Women's Basketball vs. Drexel Dragons Recap: 3. Balanced scoring by the Longhorns in the first half

One of the main concerns going into the first round that Texas fans were concerned about was what would happen if Madison Booker had a hard time scoring. Her other teammates picked up the slack in the first half as the Longhorns led by 20 against the Dragons at halftime.

Senior forward Taylor Jones finished with ten points in the first half. Senior forward DeYona Gatson also contributed, dropping nine points as well. The Longhorns made a good team effort in the first half against the Dragons.

Texas Women's Basketball vs. Drexel Dragons Recap: 2. Crippling the Dragons

That signature Longhorns defense was in effect in the first half against the Dragons. They held their top scorer, Junior guard Amaris Baker, to eight points in the first half. They also stopped out their second-best scorer, Brooke Mullin, as well.

Even though this was expected, it demonstrates how Texas will slow down other teams in the tournament. Texas is going to be a threat later on in the NCAA Tournament. Today was just a warm-up for the remainder of their tournament run.

Texas Women's Basketball vs. Drexel Dragons Recap: 1. Gonzales from beyond the arc

Senior guard Shaylee Gonzales could not be stopped from beyond the arc this afternoon. She made five out of the six three-point attempts she tried. Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball Head Basketball Coach Vic Schaefer saw enough from her and pulled her from the game in the fourth quarter.

She finished the game with 21 points against the Dragons this afternoon. Gonzales will be called on to make three-pointers later on in the tournament. The Longhorns now await the winner of Alabama vs. Florida State later this afternoon.

Other UT women's basketball stories on Hook'em Headlines