The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (18-0, 3-0) smashed the Auburn Tigers (11-6, 0-3) 97-36 on Thursday at the Moody Center to extend their undefeated streak behind senior center Kyla Oldacre’s 23 points and 11 rebounds,
her second double-double of the season.
Oldacre was one of five players to reach double figures for the Horns as sophomore forward Justice Carlton notched 17 points and nine rebounds, junior forward Breya Cunningham scored 15 points with five rebounds, and junior wing Madison Booker added 16 points and seven rebounds.
As usual, senior guard Rori Harmon was a steady playmaker and impact defender, recording seven assists and three steals, leaving her 11 steals away from tying the program record set by Linda Waggoner.
In the first period, Texas jumped out early against Auburn with Carlton leading the way with nine points and five rebounds. The Longhorns started the game on a 20-0 run by shooting 47.6 percent from the field and forcing 11 Tiger turnovers that turned into 14 points with Booker scoring six points and Cunningham hitting seven points to close out the opening period, 27-5.
Texas opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run as Harmon scored 10 points and Cunningham and Oldacre each adding five of their own to take a 48-17 lead into halftime.
As the second half commenced, the Tigers continued to struggle, shooting 25 percent from the field with six turnovers while Texas’ Booker and Carlton both each hit for eight points in the third. The Longhorns out-rebounded the Tigers, cleaning the boards 15-4 and holding the auburn offense to seven points to go into the final period leading 72-24. In the fourth and final quarter it was all Oldacre, the Longhorn hit for 12 points, 5 rebounds and a assist while the senior guard Ashton Judd tossed 2 assists, 6 points, and snagging a rebound. Booker cleaned the glass with 3 boards aiding Texas to extend their undefeated streak and containing the Auburn Tigers, 97-36
Texas forced 26 turnovers scoring 40 points just of turnovers and held Auburn to 29-percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Longhorns shot 54 percent from the field with 36 bench points and hit 83 percent from the free-throw line, taking advantage of numerous chances in connecting on 24-of-29 free throws and scoring 58 points in the paint and out-rebounding the Tigers, 50-19.
On Sunday, Texas travels to Baton Rouge to face No. 12 LSU in a top-25 showdown at 2 p.m. Central on ESPN.
