Yes she was scared of Shukaku not Gaara. Part 1 Temari could blow away a whole forest. Imagine what Part 2 Temari is capable of. Gaara doesn't always have sand nearby. Sometimes just the sand he carries with him. Under right circumstances Temari beats him more time than not.
I don't know why Hinabae bashes me for my opinion. I guess she is salty about something but I didn't do anything to her.
You should look back to Gaara’s fight against Kimmaru. He had no sand other than his gourd and even that sand wasn’t enough, so he used in to dig underground and bolster its defense with diamond mineral and loosened the earth enough to effect the entire area.
Sure Temari can blow away and entire forest but Gaara can swallow that entire forest by uprooting the ground beneath it. His sand has enough mass, volume, and quantity to counter and defend against all of Temari’s attacks.
I can respect her power and that you think she could beat him, but I just don’t see it, not without the handicap you mentioned but then it really isn’t a battle if you have to nerf Gaara now is it?
But I’m a bit biased as Gaara is one of my favs so I can admit that.