After earning a second-place finish during the regular season, Texas traveled to Kansas City looking to win another conference tournament title. As the two seed, the Longhorns drew a surging Kansas Jayhawks team looking for revenge.
The Jayhawks kept themselves in striking distance throughout the game. Texas ended the first quarter up seven, but to start the second Kansas closed the gap to just one, making it a 19-18 ballgame. Before the first tipoff, the Big 12 recognized freshman Madison Booker as the conference’s player of the year, yet down the final stretch, it was the veteran Longhorns who catapulted Texas to its 76-60 win.
Texas entered the fourth quarter only up five, and just as momentum started to mount for the Jayhawks, senior guard Shay Holle, who finished with 10 points, scored five quick buckets and added a long-range three to extend the Longhorn lead. In a flash, Texas led by 11, forcing Kansas to take a timeout and regroup.
The referee’s whistle blew loud and often throughout the game as senior forward Taylor Jones was two fouls away from being out of the game permanently as Texas headed into the fourth. Although she was teetering with elimination, Jones forced the Jayhawks’ top two options at center to foul out.
After that, Jones went straight to work. In the second half alone, she scored 11 points and recorded two blocks.
Junior forward Aaliyah Moore scored the bulk of her 19 points in the second quarter, but in the fourth, the junior forward made plenty of hustle plays, including two rebounds and three points. Holle came up with an offensive rebound, but after another missed shot from the Longhorns, Moore flew down the lane to pull down another offensive board while also drawing a shooting foul. In total, the Longhorns recorded 16 offensive rebounds and scored 38 points in the paint.
The veterans may have taken over late in the game, but Booker was once again a bright spot on the offensive side of the ball. The freshman scored 21 points coupled with seven assists. Against the Jayhawks, Booker scored her 500th point for the Longhorns in what has already been a very impressive first-year campaign.
Texas now faces the Kansas State Wildcats on Monday at 4 p.m. The Longhorns split the series with the Wildcats this season.
