Shaylee Gonzales scored 20 points and No. 4 Texas rolled to a 79-40 win over No. 13 East Carolina on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the Longhorns' home court.
Danae McNeal led East Carolina with 13 points in the Pirates' first NCAA Tournament game since 2007. Texas outscored East Carolina 40-16 in the paint.Gonzales is the only Longhorn to start every game this season as the Longhorns were battered by a series of injuries. Ranked No. 3 to start the season, Texas quickly tumbled all the way out of the Top 25 as injuries mounted.
But after shoving around the Pirates, Texas is now within one win of the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.East Carolina: The Pirates hope to become tournament regulars after such a long drought for the program. Coach Kim McNeill has a foundation to build on with guard Amiya Joyner, the American Athletic Conference freshman of the year, and junior guard Synia Johnson, who was the most valuable player of the conference tournament.
“We’re going to make this a place that is familiar to us. We’ve learned what it takes to be successful at this level. It’s made us hungrier,” McNeill said. “I really hope people don't remember us on how we finished, this one game.” Texas: Shooting guard Sonya Morris returned to the court in the first quarter after being out since Feb. 4 with a deep thigh contusion. Morris wore a football-like thigh pad on her right leg. She played only 13 minutes but made her first shot, a 3-pointer from the right wing. She was Texas' best 3-point shooter before she was hurt.
“I'm not sure we ever thought we'd get her back until we got back from the Big 12 ,” Schaefer said. “We were kind of hoping next .”Texas is 22-0 when holding opponents under 60 points this season. The Longhorns held the Pirates under 10 points in each of the final three quarters.Texas plays No. 5 Louisville on Monday. The Cardinals beat Texas 71-63 in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas in December. Harmon missed that game with a toe injury.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Shaylee Gonzales, Texas easily dispatch ECUShaylee Gonzales scored 20 points and No. 4 Texas rolled to a 79-40 win over No. 13 East Carolina on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the Longhorns' home court.
Read more »
‘Something didn’t seem right’: Whataburger employees in East Texas alert police of child predatorWhataburger employees in East Texas told police that “something didn’t seem right” when they saw a teen and a 79-year-old man eating together in the restaurant Tuesday morning.
Read more »
Texas Pol Reveals He Went on Secret Middle East Mission to Torpedo Carter’s Re-ElectionFormer Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes said Reagan supporters met with Middle Eastern leaders in a bid to convince Iran not to release its American hostages until after the election.
Read more »
Texas-Texas A&M rivalry keeps waiting as Longhorns now shift March Madness focusSo much for a rivalry renewed during the height of March Madness. All the animosity and taunting and ill-will will have to wait for at least another year – or...
Read more »
Bill mandating North Carolina colleges to take US studies class to graduate approved by state HouseThe North Carolina House has approved a bill requiring state college students to take a U.S. history or government class in order to graduate.
Read more »