No. 3 Texas Longhorns Overcome Slow Start in Dominant Win vs. No. 8 Kentucky

A trio of Longhorns leads Texas to a big win over the Kentucky Wildcats in its second-straight top-10 game.

Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) waits for her team to set up a play in the second half as the Longhorns take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Moody Center, Feb. 9, 2025. Texas won the game 66-62. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It took until 1:15 seconds left in the second quarter for Madison Booker to score her first points for the No. 3 Texas Longhorns against No. 8 Kentucky on Thursday night in Lexington. But as she likes to say, shooters shoot and she didn't let that affect her, making three straight shots to put Texas up at the half.

The Longhorns would go on to win 67-49, their third win of 18 points or more against a ranked opponent.

Texas was able to continue its momentum into the second half, jumping out to a 12-point lead early. Led by bigs Kyla Oldacre and Taylor Jones, the Longhorns extended their lead to 22 with the duo combining for 34 total points. This was Jones's fourth straight game scoring in double figures, finishing with 15 points.

Jan 20, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Kyla Oldacre (00) scores a basket against Maryland Terrapins forward Allie Kubek (14) during the second half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Longhorns were forced to overcome early shooting struggles but dominated Kentucky in the second half. Texas held the Wildcats' dominant point guard Georgia Amoore to 14 points and was able to shut down the rest of Kentucky's offense.

Booker and Oldacre each finished with 19 points, leading the Texas offense when it struggled to shoot the ball, with Oldacre being there to clean up the missed shots.

Texas's two-headed monster of Jones and Oldacre dominated the boards, grabbing eight and seven rebounds, respectively. No team has a matchup for the duo as they are outmatching anyone who tries to come near them on either side of the ball. Both have been able to stay out of foul trouble in recent games, adding to the juice of the Texas offense.

While Booker struggled early, the sophomore showed why she was the SEC and AP Players of the Week, bouncing back from a tough start to finish matched with Oldacre for the team-high in points. Booker, who reached the 1,000-point milestone against Vanderbilt has already added 39 points to that total in just two games.

Booker also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and snagged three steals against the Wildcats, showing her versatility on the court.

Now, the Longhorns will turn their focus to No. 5 LSU for their fourth-straight ranked matchup and third-straight top-10 matchup. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN.

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