Booker scores 20 and No. 1 Texas opens March Madness with 105-61 win over No. 16 William & Mary
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Taylor Jones scored 19 points as No. 1 seed Texas opened the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 105-61 victory over No. 16 William & Mary on Saturday night.
Booker had her double-double by the end of the third quarter for the Longhorns (32-3), who advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 8 Illinois (22-9), which beat No. 9 Creighton earlier Saturday.
Texas is a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year after reaching No. 1 during the regular season for the first time since 2004 and winning a share of the Southeastern Conference championship. The All-American Booker was the league’s player of the year.
Yet the early moments of their tournament were anything but smooth against a quick and spunky opponent making the most of its chance in the spotlight. William & Mary (16-19), which had never made the tournament until this year, quickly tested Texas with an up-tempo attack that had the Longhorns off balance early.
“We looked like we hadn’t played in two weeks,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’ve had a long layoff. But I have to give them credit. That team was fearless. That’s what I want my team to be.”
The Tribe were within 23-18 at the end of the first quarter before Texas slowly and steadily enforced its will to take control.
The Longhorns’ considerable size advantage with Jones and Kyla Oldacre in the post, and the 6-1 Booker on the wing, had Texas dominating rebounding and scoring in the paint. Oldacre finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
“When Taylor and Kyla are at their best, they are hard to stop. One subs out and another one comes in,” Booker said.
Bryanna Preston finished a fast break with a layup, Oldacre muscled her way over two defenders for a basket and Booker scored twice as Texas opened an 18-point lead and took control from there.
Bella Nascimento led William & Mary with 19 points.
“We came out swinging, come out fighting. We did everything we could to stay in the game,” Nascimento said.
Takeaways
William & Mary: The Tribe’s first NCAA Tournament was short but sweet: They got a chance to taste victory with their First Four win over High Point. The Tribe was the only team in this year’s tournament with a losing record, and coach Erin Dickerson Davis and her program had success to build on. After the game, the players gathered in a group hug on the court and cheered.
“We’re so happy to have had this season and I’m proud of these girls,” Dickerson Davis said. “They have laid the foundation. Now we have a standard. We were fighting to get there. We have a taste of it.”
Texas: The Longhorns were uneven on both ends of the floor for long stretches, with sloppy passes early and leaving open shooters on the perimeter. Texas was never in danger of losing, but Schaefer has plenty to clean up going forward as the competition only gets better.
“We’ll need to play better,” Schaefer said. “I don’t think anyone in my locker room thought we played very well, and yet we win by 40.”
Key stat
Texas made just three 3-pointers but dominated scoring in the paint 56-22.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.