Cliffs Notes: Top-seeded Texas advanced to the Sweet 16 on Monday afternoon with a 65-48 win over No.8 seed Illinois.
The Participants: No.1 Texas (33-3) and No.8 Illinois (22-10)
Game MVP: Madison Booker did her thing for the second straight Tournament game, scoring a team-best 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. Booker was in rhythm on the offensive end and appears ready for the moments when she'll be asked to do more. There's a 30-piece inside of her just waiting to get out in one of these Tournament games and she just hasn't been asked to quite deliver that yet.
The Game Was Decided When...: At one point late in the first quarter, the game was tied at 12-12. Over the course of the next 9+ minutes of game time, the Longhorns went on a 22-4 run that gave Texas a 34-16 lead. That was the ball game, folks. There was no coming back from that for Illinois.
Unsung Hero: Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was on fire in the first half, helping carry the Texas offense, along with Booker. The 6-2 junior scored 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting. On a day when the starting backcourt for the Longhorns shot a combined 4 of 17 from the floor and 0 for 3 from downtown, having a bench piece produce a career-high in this level of post-season game was critical.
The Three-Point Shot: The Longhorns went 0 for 5 from beyond the arc, but only allowed Illinois to hit 3 of 12 shots until the final minutes of the game (5 of 15 overall), so the three-point shot wasn't much of a factor in this game at all... just the way the Longhorns like it.
Final Thoughts: Texas kind of breezed its way to the Sweet 16, as it simply outclassed Illinois in every way a team could be outclassed. Things get harder from here on out. Next up is Tennessee and if you didn't see the game between the Longhorns/Vols earlier this season... just know that it was a freaking battle. The Vols hit 9 of 17 shots from three-point land and were pretty scary that night in an 80-76 loss at the Moody center. Ruby Whitehorn can hoop. Tennessee has hit 26 three-point shots in its first 2 Tournament games. It'll be a dogfight to get to the Elite 8 and Notre Dame would be a very formidable Elite 8 opponent. It's time for this team to claim its destiny.
Last edited:
