Texas leans on guard play, Shaylee Gonzales' shooting in Big 12 win over No. 23 Kansas

For awhile Tuesday night, Texas guard Shaylee Gonzales couldn't miss.

A couple of 3-point attempts? Nothing but net.

Two jumpers? Swish.

A put-back off an offensive rebound and a turnover that was turned into a layup? Count ❜em.

Gonzales put on a shooting clinic against No. 23 Kansas in the fourth quarter of a 72-59 Texas win at Moody Center. That fourth-quarter flurry — as well as the 26 points that Gonzales scored over the course of the game — lifted Texas to its first win over a ranked opponent this season.

The Longhorns, just three days removed from a disappointing 86-82 loss at Oklahoma State, improved to 12-5 with wins in three of its four conference contests.

"After that loss, we were pretty upset, came into practice, worked our butts off and we knew that we wanted to come out and hit them first and win this game," Gonzales said. "I think we played really well as a team and that just shows that we can bounce back after a loss."

Texas led 41-29 at halftime but made just one of the first 10 shots it took in the second half. That slump allowed Kansas to pull within four points. The Longhorns, though, extended their advantage back to seven by the third quarter's final buzzer.

Then Gonzales took over.

She made the first six shots that she took in the fourth quarter. A rushed 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining was her only miss in the frame. Those six makes resulted in 14 points. As a team, Kansas scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Gonzales credited her teammates with setting good screens during the fourth quarter. That echoed a comment made earlier by Kansas coach Brandon Schneider.

"We got screened way too much," Schneider said. "Texas did a great job of setting really physical screens. You cannot run into screens, you got to do a better job of navigating that and using your teammates and credit Texas for their execution and credit her for making shots."

Gonzales missed the first two shots that she took, but made 11 of her final 14. Ten of her points were scored in the second quarter as fellow guard Sonya Morris sat with foul trouble.

Gonzales' 26 points were a season high. The 5-foot-10 transfer who ranks 10th on BYU's all-time scoring list exceeded that 26-point mark six times during her four years with the Cougars.

"That basket must have looked like a trash can because she really filled it up," UT coach Vic Schaefer said. "We need her to obviously be like that every night."

Gonzales was joined at the postgame press conference by Morris and point guard Rori Harmon. Fourteen of UT's 18 points in the first quarter were tied to Morris' four made shots and two assists. While playing 40 minutes for the second time in the last three games, Harmon distributed 11 assists.

"We won tonight with guard play," said Schaefer, who also credited the scouting report put together by associate head coach Elena Lovato.

The 86 points scored by Oklahoma State last Saturday were the second-most allowed during Schaefer's three-year Texas tenure. On Tuesday, Texas forced 21 turnovers and held Kansas to a .375 shooting percentage.

"We were actually focused this time," Harmon said. "There's a difference between our team when we're focused and not focused and I think it's very obvious."

The Longhorns recorded their 13-point win in front of an announced crowd of 4,903. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian sat courtside with his wife, Loreal.

The win was UT's sixth straight at Moody. The Longhorns never trailed and have faced just one 27-second deficit during their winning streak. On Sunday, No. 15 Iowa State comes to Austin.

Notes: Kansas (12-3, 2-2) was led by Holly Kersgieter's 20 points. Taiyanna Jackson had 19 points and 12 rebounds and recorded her conference-leading 10th double-double. ... Texas committed 17 turnovers. ... Texas forward Taylor Jones played just under 25 minutes. After missing nine games with a lower body injury, she had made a brief appearance in the Oklahoma State game.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas beats Kansas for first win over ranked basketball opponent