The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
28-6,13-5Big 12
Utah
21-12,8-7Pac-12
No. 6/7 Women’s Basketball upends Utah, 78-56, to advance to the Sweet Sixteen
03.20.2022 | Women's Basketball
Aaliyah Moore leads the offense once again with a career-high 21 points as the Longhorns win final game inside the Erwin Center
AUSTIN, Texas — A 'sweet' sendoff.
In what was the final athletic event played inside the Frank Erwin Center, The No. 6/7 Texas Women's Basketball team sent the building out in style as it posted a resounding 78-56 victory over Utah Sunday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the win, the No.2-seeded Longhorns (28-6) run their win streak to 13 games and punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, which is set to kick off next Friday, March 25 in Spokane, Wash.
The Longhorns' offense got off to a red-hot start and never cooled down as they finished the game shooting a season-high 63.6 percent (35-of-55) from the field to go along with a 50 percent (3-of-6 ) mark from behind the arc.
Leading 19-17 after the first 10 minutes of action, Texas used a 25-13 second quarter to take a 44-30 lead into the locker room at the break.
UT opened the third quarter on a 10-4 run and outscored the Utes 20-12 in the quarter to put the game out of reach for good.
For the second-straight game, freshman forward Aaliyah Moore was phenomenal off of the bench for the Longhorns and once again, led the offense with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting. She also shared the team lead in rebounding finishing with five boards.
Junior guard Aliyah Matharu also provided a spark off of the bench as she tallied 14 points on 6-of-7 from the floor including a perfect 2-of-2 clip from three-point range. She also brought down five rebounds and led the team with three steals.
Freshman Rori Harmon added 11 points and dished out a team-best eight assists in the ball game, which moved her into the No.1 spot in school history for single-season assists by a freshman (171). She surpassed Terri Mackey who recorded 166 assists as a freshman in 1980-81.
Senior Joanne Allen-Taylor was the fourth Longhorn to finish in double figures as she totaled with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Texas forced 19 Utah turnovers in the game, which led to 18 points and committed 12 turnovers on the other end. UT held a 26-18 rebounding advantage in the contest.
The Utes finished the game shooting 51.1 precent (23-of-45) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from behind the arc.
Utah was led offensively by Kennady McQueen who finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was 4-of-7 from three-point range. Jenna Johnson finished with 14 points.
The Longhorns will await the results of Monday's (7 p.m. CT) second round matchup between No. 3-seed LSU and No. 6 Ohio State to determine their Sweet Sixteen opponent. Tip times and broadcast information will be determined at the conclusion of all second round games.
