Texas Women's Basketball: UT takes on Drexel in first round
By Brian Sweet
March Madness starts for Texas Women's Basketball on March 22 as they take on the Drexel Dragons at the Moody Center. The Longhorns received a number one seed on Sunday night and found out they will host a region in the Portland 4 section of the bracket.
Drexel found a way to win their conference as a seventh seed in the CAA Conference Tournament. The Longhorns can't take them for granted this afternoon. Here is a preview of the first-round matchup against the Drexel Dragons.
Texas Women's Basketball vs. Drexel Dragons: Previewing the Dragons
The Dragons won the CAA Title against Stony Brook, behind being the lucky number seven seed in their conference tournament. Junior guard Amaris Baker and Senior guard Booke Mullin are their top two leading scorers.
Baker averages 11 points and four rebounds a game, while Mullin averages 10 points and three rebounds this season. The Longhorns must keep Sophomore guard Grace O'Neill off the boards since she is the leading rebounder for the Dragons. She averages five rebounds a game for Drexel.
Texas Women's Basketball vs. Drexel Dragons: Previewing the Longhorns
The Longhorns are coming off winning the Big 12 Title and receiving the number one seed in the Portland four region. The Dragons will focus their defensive efforts on stopping Madison Booker this afternoon. Booker's mid-range game is deadly and reminds people of Kevin Durant when he played at Texas. It will be interesting to see what Drexel does to slow her down.
The Dragons also must stop Junior forward Aaliyah Moore inside the paint. She averages 10.9 points a game this season. Senior forward Taylor Jones is another player to worry about. She crashes the glass and averages 12 points and six rebounds a game.
The Longhorns also have two guards that the Dragons will keep an eye on. Senior guard Shaylee Gonzales loves to shoot three-pointers. She averages 36 percent from beyond the arc this season. Senior guard Shay Holle is another threat from beyond the arc for the Longhorns this season. She averages 37% from beyond the three-point line this season.
The Dragons will have their work cut out against one of the best basketball teams in the South this year. The Longhorns also can't get caught looking ahead. The Dragons have nothing to lose against the Longhorns this weekend. They will throw the kitchen sink at the Longhorns, hoping they can pull off a major upset. Let's see what happens this afternoon between both teams.