By MARK ROSNER
The Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas Shaylee Gonzales scored 21 points, Taylor Jones added 18 and No. 1 seed Texas beat No. 16 Drexel 82-42 on Friday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Gonzales converted 5 of 6 3-point attempts while matching her season-high in scoring. Jones hit 7 of 11 shots inside for the Longhorns, who have won 13 of their last 14 games.
Drexel (19-15) had only one starter taller than 6 feet — 6-2 Hedda Staatman. Texas (31-4), rotating four post players who are between 6-1 and 6-4 most of the game, outscored Drexel 44-18 in the paint and 22-6 on second-chance points thanks to a 26-10 edge in offensive rebounding.
Texas’ dominance inside eventually resulted in open 3-pointers for Gonzales. She made three in the third quarter without missing.
Freshman Madison Booker had a season-best 14 assists for Texas, and DeYona Gaston had 11 points and 10 rebounds — eight on offense. Guard Shay Holle had seven rebounds, four blocks, three steals.
Amaris Baker led Drexel with 10 points. The Dragons shot 35% and committed 21 turnovers.
Texas started the game in its preferred full-court press with mixed results. The Longhorns forced a few early turnovers, but Drexel scored some baskets after breaking the press. Texas then took a 40-20 halftime lead with strong half-court defense, outscoring Drexel 21-8 in the second quarter while limiting the Dragons to 4-for-12 shooting and inducing seven turnovers.
The Longhorns outscored Drexel 34-12 in the third quarter.
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Texas plays the winner of Alabama and Florida State on Sunday.
