KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Madison Booker had a big first quarter on her way to 26 points, Aaliyah Moore added 14 and No. 6 Texas cruised to a 70-53 win over Iowa State on Tuesday night for the SEC-bound Longhorns’ second Big 12 Tournament title in three years.
Shaylee Gonzales also had 11 points for the second-seeded Longhorns (30-4), who avenged a loss to the Cyclones in last year’s championship game while giving the NCAA Tournament selection committee another reason to consider them for a No. 1 seed.
Texas has won 12 of its last 13 games with the lone loss coming to Big 12 regular-season champ Oklahoma.
Audi Crooks scored 25 points to lead fourth-seeded Iowa State (20-11), but she had very little help. Emily Ryan had seven points and eight assists but also nine turnovers, and second-leading scorer Addy Brown was held to two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
Iowa State committed 20 turnovers to just seven for the Longhorns, who turned all those miscues into 23 points.
Booker had been frustrated by Kansas State during much of the Longhorns’ semifinal win, but she was perfectly at ease in the finale against the Cyclones, outscoring them by herself in the first quarter. She had 12 points as Texas built a 19-10 lead.
Then the rest of the Longhorns got into the act.
Gonzales had a pair of 3s and eight points in the second quarter, Moore started to get to the foul line and DeYona Gaston scored on the fastbreak after one of Ryan’s five first-half turnovers. By the time Crooks finally ended her 0-for-5 shooting start for Iowa State with 4:27 left in the half, the Longhorns already had built a 20-point advantage.
Kelsey Joens’ buzzer-beating 3 for Iowa State merely got the defending champs within 40-21 at the break.
The Cyclones never gave up — they rarely do at the Big 12 tourney, where also beat Texas for the 2000 title. But when a 12-2 run got them within 49-37 late in the third quarter, Booker answered with a turnaround jumper. And when Crooks tried to push Iowa State into contention in the fourth, Booker again was ready with another silencing mid-range jumper.
The final few minutes gave Texas a chance to relish one last Big 12 victory before jumping to the SEC next season.