Playing in front of a partisan crowd at the Moody Center on Friday, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns took care of business to open the NCAA Tournament with an 87-45 victory over the No. 16 seed Missouri State Lady Bears as four players reached double digits, led by sophomore guard Jordan Lee’s 19 points.
Senior center Kyla Oldacre added 16 points, junior wing Madison Booker scored 15 points, and sophomore guard Bryanna Preston notched 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a team-high four assists.
In typical
fashion for a Vic Schaefer team, the Horns only went 2-of-9 shooting from three, but hit at 50 percent overall and forced 19 turnovers by the Lady Bears, turning those giveaways into a 29-8 advantage in points off turnovers. With edges in size, athleticism, and depth, Texas dominated in the paint, outscoring Missouri State 50-12, and had a 37-6 edge in bench points.
The Longhorns only shot 31.6 percent in the first quarter, but opened up a 19-4 lead by holding the Lady Bears to 1-of-16 shooting (6.3 percent) as Missouri State missed six of its seven three-point attempts. In the second quarter, Texas shot much better at 52.9 percent as Oldacre scored seven points, and continued its trademark defensive intensity, forcing eight turnovers to lead 44-12 at halftime.
After halftime, the Lady Bears heated up from the field in hitting 9-of-13 shots (69.2 percent), matched by the Horns, as Missouri State was only outscored by a point in the third quarter before Texas reasserted its dominance for a nine-point edge over the final 10 minutes.
Texas remains at the Moody Center for a Sunday matchup against No. 8 seed Oregon, 70-60 winners over No. 9 seed Virginia Tech in the early game in Austin on Friday. Tip time is to be determined.
