Texas women's basketball drops bomb on No. 3 UCLA with huge first-half performance

Texas Women's Basketball traveled to Las Vegas to participate in the Players Era Championship by taking on #3 UCLA. This was the first big test for the Longhorns since the Bruins are the highest-ranked team that Texas has played this season. The Longhorns went out on the court and proved that they should be ranked higher.

Texas would go on to upset the Bruins by a final score of 76-65. That was an impressive basketball game involving everybody on the court. What was even more amazing was that this win didn't even include contributions from Aaliyah Crump, Breyanna Preston, and Ashley Judd, who were out with injuries.

Let's look at four takeaways from today's signature win against the #3 Bruins.

1. Great start to the game

We were a little worried that Lauren Betts was going to be trying to impress the Dallas Wings after the opening tip-off, but the Longhorns' defense kept her at bay. Holding her scoreless for half of the 1st quarter was pretty impressive, considering her draft stock has her going in the top three of the WNBA Draft. I'm sure holding her to two points in the first quarter didn't affect her stock too much, but South Carolina should be concerned if the Longhorns were able to keep Betts at bay.

2. Forcing 10 turnovers in the first half

Vic Schaefer loves preaching about winning the turnover battle throughout the game, and Texas did that against the Bruins today. UCLA turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, and the Longhorns scored 12 points off of those turnovers.

That's how you are going to win basketball games against ranked teams this season. Make them feel uncomfortable and reap the rewards by capitalizing on turnovers. Today's game was a masterclass from Schaefer on defensive technique.

3. Have a game Ms. Booker

I don't know if Madison Booker already has WNBA teams looking at her, but they certainly will after today's game. Even though she had a slow start at the beginning of the game, she picked up steam and finished with 16 points. She had her fingerprints all over the game, also recording seven rebounds and five assists. I'm sure teams that are taking on Texas soon are already trying to figure out ways to keep Booker off the scoresheet.

4. Winning, despite being outrebounded

The last takeaway from today's game was the Longhorns' ability to control the boards against the Bruins. Texas beat the Bruins despite losing the rebound battle. While I would have loved to see the Longhorns do better with this stat today, I can't be mad with how good they were shooting the ball. It happens sometimes, but at least the Longhorns are leaving Vegas with a win.

The Longhorns return to action on Sunday afternoon as they host Penn at the Moody Center.