Texas Longhorns Stay Undefeated With Decisive Home Win vs. Penn

The Texas Longhorns are off to an undeniably hot start to their 2025-26 season, and they have kicked this week off with another strong win.

Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer reacts during the first quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team is back home after an eventful trip to Las Vegas, and they have kicked off this upcoming week with a decisive 81-63 victory against the Pennsylvania Quakers. 

To say that this team has built momentum throughout their past few games might be an understatement, and their Sunday afternoon performance at the Moody Center reflected it.

Headlined by an impressive free throw percentage and the ability to convert off turnovers, the Longhorns have extended their record to 8-0 for the season.

Texas' elite free throw shooting

Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) dribbles against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the third quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While a team’s ability to capitalize on free throw opportunities might not seem integral to the overall outcome of a game, the chance to add easy points from behind the line can be crucial.

At least, this was the case for Texas on Sunday in their home victory.

The Longhorns added 20 points from free throws alone, accounting for nearly 25% of their overall total by the end of the matchup. They made 91% of their free throws against the Quakers, demonstrating major improvements from previous games.

What head coach Vic Schaefer once considered to be the team’s ‘Achilles heel’ might actually be on track to become one of their assets as the season progresses. Free throw shooting can be a critical element of success, so keeping their ability from behind the line from fluctuating greatly will be important for this team from here on out.

Forward Madison Booker was responsible for over half of the team’s free throw total, making 11 of 11 shots after getting fouled. As one of the team’s leaders this year, she seems to be taking charge across several aspects of the game. She led the team in scoring with 17 points and played a total of 38 minutes on Sunday.

Points off turnovers

Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson (25) dribbles against Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) during the fourth quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Longhorns have proven themselves capable of forcing turnovers all season, and their matchup against the Quakers was no exception. However, what stood out most wasn’t the turnovers themselves, but Texas’ ability to turn them into scoring opportunities.

They forced just 11 turnovers, compared to the 17 that Pennsylvania forced defensively, but they scored over twice as many points off turnovers than the Quakers did. Texas finished the matchup with 23 points in this area, while their opponents scored just 11.

This is a testament to their ability to transition quickly, something that Schaefer has emphasized as being important throughout this season.

Up next, the Longhorns will take on the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday at the Moody Center.