Cliffs Notes: On a night when Madison Booker struggled, it didn't matter at all for the No.1 Texas, as the Longhorns rolled No.4 Gonzaga 69-47 to advance to the Elite 8 in Portland.
The Participants: No.1 Texas (32-4) and No.4 Gonzaga (32-3)
Game MVP: It's tempting to give the honor to Shaylee Gonzales after she posted 15 points and knocked down 3 of 5 from downtown, but Aaliyah Moore scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 6 assists while battling cramps in her legs, which just makes it impossible to ignore what the junior from Moore, Oklahoma did tonight.
Key Moment: Gonzaga was on a 9-0 run in the third quarter, which had cut the Texas lead to 12, but Gonzales cooly knocked down her 3rd three-point shot of the night to boost the lead back to 15 and the Longhorns never really looked back.
First Half Destruction: The Longhorns out it on Gonzaga in the first half like the opposition stole some from grand-ma's purse, building a 37-18 lead at the half with two complete quarters of action. Texas shot 51.9/57.1/71.4 vs. 14.3/22.2/83.3 on the other side. The Longhorns also dominated on the boards (20-12) and points in the paint (18-2). Oh, and the Longhorns did with Madison Booker scoring a mere 2 points on 1 of 4 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
Three-Point Advantage: The duo of Shay Holle and Gonzales combined to hit 4 of 5 three-point shots in the first half, while Gonzaga's entire 7-woman squad combined to hit 2 of 9.
Madison Booker Watch: Momma always said there would be nights like this, as the All-American scored 6 points on 3 of 8 shooting, while turning it over 7 times. If there was ever a time this late in the season to have kind of a stinker, this was it because her teammates picked up the slack.
Next Up: The Longhorns will play No.3 NC State for a spot in the Final Four after the Wolfpack beat No.2 Stanford 77-67 earlier on Friday night.
