Texas Longhorns forward Taylor Jones (44) win the rebound over South Carolina Gamecocks forward Maryam Dauda (30) in the first half as the Texas Longhorns take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Moody Center, Feb. 9, 2025. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Women's Basketball Star Taylor Jones Reaches Program Milestone

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Isa Almeida | Last updated Feb 16, 2025 6:59 PM ET

AUSTIN -- Texas senior forward Taylor Jones joined the 1,000-point club in the Longhorns' win thrilling over LSU on Sunday.

The Oregon State transfer reached 1,000 career points in 2023 in Texas' NCAA Tournament win over East Carolina, but her 1,000th as a Longhorn took a little longer.

In her sixth year playing collegiate basketball, Jones spent three years in Corvallis and is in her third in Austin. Playing nearly every game since joining head coach Vic Schaefer's team, she has been a consistent starter and part of what Schaefer describes as his "two-headed monster," a duo consisting of Jones and fellow big Kyla Oldacre.

Jones had 12 points against Kim Mulkey's LSU.

In Texas' 2023-2024 run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, Jones was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, USBWA National Player of the Week and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 finalist. This season, she's scored in the double digits in 20 games, with her highest scoring coming against Ole Miss with 24.

"It speaks to her toughness, for sure," Schaefer said. "She's had her fair share of injuries, and she's way different. Our team will tell you she's tough. She's down there battling every night... This is her final year. It's her senior year. She's got a chance to play at the next level. So I think she's really embraced that. I'm really proud of Taylor, because she's way different. She knew that if she was going to impact our team, she had to be way different."

Jones and the Longhorns will take on the road for two consecutive games to play Georgia and Schaefer's former team Mississippi State.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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