No. 1 Texas cruises past No. 8 Illinois

Published 5:42 pm Monday, March 24, 2025

Staff, Wire Reports

AUSTIN — Madison Booker scored a game-high 20 points and reserve Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 19 Monday as top-seeded Texas cruised past eighth-seeded Illinois 65-48 in a second-round matchup of the NCAA Women’s Tournament at the Moody Center.

Taylor Jones chipped in 12 points for the Longhorns (33-3), which advance to the Sweet 16 on Saturday for a matchup with fifth-seeded Tennessee. Texas and the Lady Vols will meet at either 1 or 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 in Birmingham, Alabama. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

Texas hit 46.7 percent of its shots from the field and enjoyed a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Adalia McKenzie scored 13 points for the Fighting Illini (22-10) and Berry Wallace added 12 but they couldn’t do much with the Longhorns’ tough defense.

Illinois made only 16 of 42 shots from the field and coughed up 20 turnovers that were turned into 23 points. The Illini led 12-10 late in the first quarter but managed only six points for the half’s remainder and trailed 34-18 at the break. Texas led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns completed an undefeated season at Moody Center with a 17-0 record. Dating back to last season the Longhorns have won 24 straight in their home arena.

Texas head coach Vic Schaefer has guided Texas to the Sweet 16 in four of his five seasons at Texas and eight of the last nine seasons as a head coach.

NOTES: Shay Holle played her final game at home for Texas. Holle has played in 168 games at Texas and has been part of 142 wins. Holle is the all-time winningest player in program history. … Booker recorded her 29th double-digit game of the season.