MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
Longhorns down West Virginia to win Gulf Coast Showcase, stay unbeaten
AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 5 Texas used an 18-5 advantage on the offensive boards to create 26 second-chance points and edge former Big 12 Conference foe No. 12 West Virginia 78-73 to win the Gulf Coast Showcase on Sunday in Estero, Florida.
The Longhorns outscored the Mountaineers 26-6 in second-chance points and held an advantage at the foul line, sinking 26 free throws to West Virginia's 18. Texas forced 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Mountaineers 37-23.
Aaliyah Moore scored a team-high 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting with five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes before fouling out. Madison Booker scored 19 points with eight rebounds and Kyla Oldacre scored 13 points with seven rebounds. Rori Harmon had nine points and six assists.
Texas scored on 55% of its possessions but shot 11 percentage points worse than the Mountaineers. Texas made 25 of 58 field goal attempts for 43% while West Virginia made 26 of 48 for 54%.
The Longhorns connected on their last four shots of the game to seal the victory. Texas led 17-12 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 36-29 at halftime.
It's the seventh consecutive win for the Longhorns, but they'll face their toughest test Thursday in the SEC-ACC Challenge. They travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on No. 3 Notre Dame at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.