Aaliyah Moore Leads Texas Past Utah in NCAA Tournament
This was the Aaliyah Moore Texas signed up for when the Longhorns made her the centerpiece of their 2021 recruiting class.
Moore’s surge in play hit a crescendo on Sunday, as her 14 points in a 25-point second quarter helped fuel Texas’ 78-56 victory over Utah in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Erwin Center.
Texas (28-6) advances to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under coach Vic Schaefer. The Longhorns must wait until Monday to find out their opponent. It will be either LSU or Ohio State.
Moore, the 6-1 freshman from Moore, Okla., came to Texas as the No. 6 recruit in the country, a two-time Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American. Schaefer installed her in the starting lineup early in the season.
But, an injury in November sidelined her for more than a month. While she was out, Lauren Ebo and DeYona Gaston formed a solid tandem inside, which led to Schaefer bringing Moore off the bench once she was healthy.
Moore’s previous two games showed glimpses of the player Schaefer recruited. She scored 12 points, a season-high, against Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game on March 13 in Kansas City. Moore logged some of her most extensive playing time of the season after Gaston fell into foul trouble.
Then, on Friday against Davidson, Moore recorded a double-double — 18 points and 10 rebounds — as the Longhorns beat the Stags by 18 points.
Her impact on Sunday, however, was swift. In 10 minutes of game time she took a close game and put Texas firmly in control.
When Moore entered the game with 1:28 left in the first quarter, the Longhorns and the Utes were tied, 17-17. When she subbed out with 2:16 left in the second quarter, the Longhorns were up 38-26. At one point Moore hit five straight shots.
Texas had a 44-30 halftime lead. Moore wasn’t the only Longhorns that was shooting lights out, either. Texas shot 11-of-13 for the quarter and 71 percent for the half. Guard Joanne Allen-Taylor had 10 points, eight of which came in the first quarter. Eight different Longhorns scored by halftime and guard Rori Harmon had eight assists.
From there, the Longhorns cruised, as Utah never cut the lead to single digits, in spite of a quality effort from Kennady McQueen, who had 18 points. Forward Jenna Johnson added 12 points. Utah shot 50 percent from the floor, but wasn’t nearly enough to catch the Longhorns’ best shooting performance of the season.
Moore ended up with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, along with five rebounds. Allen-Taylor finished with 12 points, while Harmon finished with 11 points. Aliyah Matharu came off the bench to score 14 for Texas, as it finished the game shooting 63 percent from the field.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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