The Texas women’s basketball team made a statement Monday night.
Behind Madison Booker’s 28-point performance, No. 7 Texas rolled to an 89-51 win over No. 9 Maryland at the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The 38-point pounding was the Longhorns’ fourth takedown of a ranked team this season.
Texas (18-2, 4-1) will host No. 15 Tennessee (15-3, 3-3) on Thursday.
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“I’m proud of these kids. They played really, really hard today,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said in a postgame press conference. “I’m excited about the opportunity now going into Thursday.”
Texas never trailed as Shay Holle’s early 3-pointer gave the Longhorns a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Texas led by 16 points at the end of the first quarter, expanded the lead to 30 points by halftime and went ahead by as many as 40 points in the second half.
Kyla Oldacre (15 points) and Taylor Jones (13) combined to go 11-for-13 from the field and point guard Rori Harmon finished with seven of Texas’ 20 assists. But the story of the game was Booker, who made 13 of her 19 shots, scored 20 first-half points and was outscoring Maryland by herself until midway through the third quarter. She sat out for the final 5:18 of the game and fell just one point shy of her career-high in scoring.
“(Harmon) ran the plays perfectly, just the speed, the intensity she came on the court with the plays,” Booker said. “We were all kind of in motion, the screens were great, I think our cuts were amazing. And also I think for us, it translates from defense to offense. It’s really not about me. I’m comfortable making shots, but I just thank my teammates for it, especially Rori.”
Defensively, Texas forced 27 turnovers that turned into 33 UT points. En route to its lowest point total of the season, Maryland missed 25 of its 42 shots and all seven of its 3-pointers. Averaging 84.0 points per game, Maryland entered the game with the 10th-ranked scoring offense among the 353 Division I teams. And the Terrapins’ 47.1 shooting percentage ranked 20th.
What is the historical significance of the Longhorns’ ranked rout?
Historically-speaking, the Longhorns’ 38-point win on Monday was notable. It was by far the program’s most-lopsided win over a top-10 team:
∙ 38 points — No. 7 Texas 89, No. 9 Maryland 51 (Jan. 20, 2025)
∙ 28 points — No. 11 Texas 89, No. 8 Purdue 61 (Nov. 27, 1989)
∙ 25 points — No. 2 Texas 94, No. 76 Long Beach State 69 (Feb. 15, 1980)
∙ 25 points — No. 1 Texas 90, No. 5 Western Kentucky 65 (March 28, 1986)
∙ 25 points — No. 14 Texas 73, No. 7 Iowa State 48 (Feb. 16, 2022)
Monday’s win also stacks up against UT’s all-time wins over ranked teams:
∙ 44 points — No. 6 Texas 84, No. 19 Alabama 40 (Jan. 9, 2025)
∙ 38 points — No. 7 Texas 89, No. 9 Maryland 51 (Jan. 20, 2025)
∙ 34 points — No. 2 Texas 97, No. 15 Ohio State 63 (Dec. 28, 1986)
∙ 34 points — No. 1 Texas 91, No. 12 James Madison 57 (March 19, 1987)
∙ 34 points — No. 13 Texas 78, No. 20 Old Dominion 44 (Nov. 17, 2008)
That means that in its last 11 days, Texas has recorded its two biggest blowouts over a ranked opponent. On Jan. 9 the Longhorns beat No. 19 Alabama by 44 points at Moody Center.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball records historic victory over No. 9 Maryland team
