Still undefeated. No longer untested.

Behind junior guard Rori Harmon's 27 points and 13 assists and a breakout performance from Madison Booker, No. 10 Texas never trailed in an 80-68 win over No. 11 Connecticut at Moody Center on Sunday afternoon. Playing a ranked opponent for the first time this season, Texas improved to 9-0.

"A lot of people were saying that we haven't lost because we haven't played anyone, but now we've played someone," sophomore forward Amina Muhammad slyly said in the postgame press conference before receiving a fist bump from head coach Vic Schaefer.

The win was UT's first ever over UConn. The Huskies had been 10-0 against Texas.

Here are three observations and a quote from the biggest win of the Longhorns' young season:

Texas starts off strong

Ignited by Harmon, Booker and Shaylee Gonzales, the Longhorns knocked down their first seven shots Sunday. That was by far the best start this season for Texas, which had outscored its opponents 192-63 in the first quarter. The Longhorns had never started 5-for-5 from the field during any of the 111 games that Schaefer had coached.

That start helped UT build a 17-5 lead.

By the end of the quarter, Texas was up 23-15. Harmon played much of the quarter, and she contributed 11 points and four assists. She was also tasked with defending UConn star Paige Bueckers, who had just five points in the opening quarter.

The Longhorns hit 45.6% of their shots in the game. They were shooting 51.9% over their first eight games. That ranked fifth nationally.

Wait, how many recruits were rated higher than Madison Booker?

In her introduction to a national audience, Booker shined in the ABC-televised game. Playing with the poise and fearlessness of a savvy veteran, she knocked down nine of her team-high 21 shots. She played all 40 minutes and finished with 20 points and four assists.

When she signed with Texas, Booker was rated by ESPN HoopGurlz as the No. 12 recruit in the 2023 class. Yes, that means 11 recruits were considered better prospects. One of those was UConn guard KK Arnold, who scored nine points over 24 minutes Sunday.

"I knew what I was getting with her. She was somebody that I had to have," Schaefer said. "I've said this before, but I think it needs to be said again: Book gets Rori looks. Rori's our point guard, and Rori obviously sets the table for a lot, but because Booker's on the floor, Rori's going to get an additional opportunity during the course of the game; she's going to get multiple looks because she's on the floor. She has such a great court vision and to a fault sometimes."

With UConn on a 7-0 run in the third quarter and the Texas lead down to 10, Bueckers missed on a drive to the hoop. Texas pushed the basketball down the court, and Booker made a pull-up jumper to shift the momentum back to the Longhorns, who got a 3-pointer from Harmon on their next possession.

For the season, Booker is now averaging 11.8 points and 3.6 assists.

"We're in December now, and they have pushed me and pushed me to shoot the ball more, get to my side and shoot the ball. I think I pretty much found my role now and definitely found my confidence with my teammates."

Texas gets a timely response in the fourth quarter

Two of the biggest plays in Sunday's game might not end up on any highlight reels. But they helped hold off a UConn team that twice pulled within six points in the fourth quarter.

The second of those instances happened with 1:42 left on an Arnold basket. Texas missed a jumper on the other end, but Muhammad got an offensive rebound and scored two second-chance points. That was one of six offensive rebounds grabbed by Muhammad, a 6-foot-4 forward who also scored 15 points.

“I feel like (getting offensive rebounds) is a key part of my game," Muhammad said. "It's something I really take pride in because it's one of the things I'm really good at. If you're really good at something, you’ve got to take a lot of pride in it and you’ve got to do is at your best.”

Desperately needing a response, UConn guard Nika Mühl was called for an offensive foul 11 seconds later. Gonzales drew the foul for Texas, and that was one of 21 UConn turnovers in the game.

They said it: Harmon's play leaves Geno Auriemma 'really, really impressed'

"I think she's the best player we've played against so far this year, by far," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of Harmon. "Defensively, I thought she was really instrumental in keeping Paige from getting in any kind of rhythm. Offensively, I think she just takes the ball and goes to her spot. I was really impressed with the control that she has of herself and the game. There was very rarely a time when she's trying to make a play that isn't the right play at that time. And she takes shots that she knows she can make. I was really, really impressed. I thought she's the best player we've played against. They're a team that has very, very few if any weaknesses that I can see."

The double-double performance was the 10th of Harmon's career. She also has one triple-double on her résumé.

Only two of Harmon's other double-double efforts came against a ranked opponent. Back when she was a freshman, Harmon scored 10 points and distributed 11 assists at No. 16 Tennessee. Later that season, Harmon had 15 points and 11 rebounds at No. 18 Oklahoma.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Rori Harmon, Texas remain undefeated with signature win over UConn