No. 4 Texas turns away No. 2 South Carolina, snaps Gamecocks’ record SEC winning streak

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 4 Texas stopped the streak Sunday before a sold-out crowd.

The Longhorns knocked off No. 2 South Carolina 66-62 in Southeastern Conference women’s basketball action at Moody Center, ending the Gamecocks’ 57-game regular season conference winning streak. Both squads are now 10-1 in conference play with five games remaining.

“What an incredible effort these young ladies gave today,” Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said. “This is why we do what we do as coaches. To watch the team fight and their competitive spirit and toughness … these are things we talk about all the time. But we also talk about walking the walk. It’s easy to talk it, it’s another thing to walk it. When you play a team like that, you better be able to walk it.”

Texas held South Carolina without a field goal in the final 3:57 and the Gamecocks shot 4-for-15 in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns were 7-for-15 in the frame, but perhaps more importantly, they were 3-for-3 from the foul line with Rori Harmon knocking down a pair with 0:10 left to stretch the lead to multiple possessions.

It’s the eighth consecutive win for the Longhorns, avenging their only conference loss Jan. 12 to the Gamecocks in Columbia 67-50.

The game was tied six times but the Longhorns never trailed thanks to a dominant performance in the paint, outscoring the Gamecocks 40-26 and outrebounding them 42-35. Madison Booker led the way for Texas with 20 points and 11 rebounds in a performance that wasn’t her most efficient, but it was enough to get the job done. Booker shot 7-for-22 from the field but sunk 6 of 7 free throw attempts.

Kyla Oldacre was terrific on the low block with 13 points, eight in the fourth quarter, on 6 of 10 shooting with six rebounds. Taylor Jones chipped in 11 points and six rebounds while Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had eight points on 4 for 4 shooting.

“There’s not enough words or time to express how proud I am of this team,” Schaefer said. “We were locked in the most part, for most of the day, and I thought we executed some really great stuff. Even when we didn’t make shots, I liked the shots we were getting.”

Texas shot 44% from the floor and all 26 field goals were of the 2-point variety, missing all four attempts from 3-point range. South Carolina shot 37% with 21 makes but five were from beyond the arc. The teams combined for 38 fouls and 44 free throw attempts.

MiLaysia Fulwiley was the only player for the Gamecocks to score in double figures with 13 points. Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards chipped in nine each and Te-Hina Paopao had eight on 2 of 9 shooting.

Schaefer told his team before the game they needed to play “as if they were working for the Lord.”

“They did it,” he said. “They deserved it and they earned it against a great team.”

Texas (24-2, 10-1 SEC) travels to Kentucky on Thursday. South Carolina (22-2, 10-1) hosts Florida on Thursday.

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