AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 7 Texas got another late bucket from Madison Booker to help clinch a victory in Southeastern Conference play Sunday 61-58 over Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.
Texas ended the game on an 8-0 run and Booker’s jumper from the left elbow broke a 58-58 tie with 0:24 left. Rori Harmon added a foul shot with a second left after the Longhorns made a big defensive stop, and Booker stole the ensuing inbound pass by the Rebels after they advanced it to their half of the floor with a timeout.
Booker hit a similar shot late to help seal an 80-76 win Jan. 23 over No. 17 Tennessee at Moody Center. It was a homecoming of sorts for Booker. She’s from Ridgeland, about 150 miles south of Oxford, and she said she had some extra fan support.
“Even friends who go to Ole Miss came out to support,” she said. “There’s major love from my city.”
The Rebels didn’t score in the final 4:01 and led by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter. Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer said his team “had poise in the noise.”
“That’s what college athletics is all about, having the intestinal fortitude to fight and compete,” he said. “As the score got tighter, (Ole Miss) got tighter on the other end. I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. They showed incredible toughness today.”
Texas forward Taylor Jones scored a season-high 24 points including 10 of Texas’ 16 points in the final frame. Jones sank 10 of 11 foul shots and finished 7-for-11 from the floor with six rebounds. It’s the second consecutive game scoring 20 or more points for Jones. She scored 21 against the Lady Vols and also pulled down 14 rebounds.
Jones said she took advantage of the Rebels’ foul trouble on the low block.
“We knew we had the height advantage down there and the guards were able to get me the ball,” she said. “Like Coach said, it came down to toughness. I knew we’d figure out a way to get this win.”
Booker notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
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Harmon had eight points and seven assists and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda scored eight points for the Longhorns. Texas outrebounded the Rebels 41-31. Mwenentanda got the surprise start after forward Aaliyah Moore was a late scratch with tendonitis in her knee.
It was a defensive struggle, with both teams scoring well below their season averages. The Longhorns came into the game averaging 87.1 points per game and the Rebels have been scoring 79.6. Both teams attempted the same number of field goals at 56 with Texas making 22 and the Rebels 20. The Longhorns entered the game shooting 48.4% from the field and shot nearly 10 percentage points worse against the Rebels. Ole Miss shot 36%, also 10 points below its season average.
Texas has been one of the best teams in the country at forcing turnovers, but the Rebels took care of the ball and gave it up just nine times. On average, the Longhorns force 24.2 turnovers per game, the 10th-highest in Division I, and they have the second-best turnover margin at 11.05. Texas turned it over 13 times.
With Jones leading the way, Texas outscored the Rebels 32-16 in the paint with 10 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds.
Texas trailed 21-14 after the first quarter and 32-28 at halftime before outscoring the Rebels 33-26 in the second half.
For Ole Miss, Madison Scott scored 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting and Sira Thienou had 14.
Texas (20-2, 6-1 SEC) hosts Missouri on Thursday. Ole Miss (13-6, 4-3) travels to play Georgia on Thursday.
