Booker scores 23, No. 5 Texas wins 5th straight, 82-66 over Houston

HOUSTON -- — Madison Booker had 23 points and seven rebounds, DeYona Gaston added 21 points and eight rebounds and No. 5 Texas beat Houston 82-66 on Wednesday night.

Aaliyah Moore had 12 points and eight rebounds for Texas (23-3, 10-3 Big 12), which shot 56% from the field in winning its fifth straight game. The Longhorns had a 42-24 rebounding advantage and outscored Houston 54-22 in the paint.

“That’s kind of who we are,” said Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who won his 400th collegiate game. “We talk about paint points pretty much every pregame. We want to win the rebounding battle, and we want to win the paint points. It’s just a real focal point for us.”

Laila Blair scored 23 points on 9-of-24 shooting for Houston (12-12, 3-10) to become the ninth player in program history to score 1,500 points. Maliyah Johnson added 12 points and Brittany Onyeje scored 11 points.

“The one thing they wanted to do is what they always do — rebound the basketball,” Houston coach Ronald Hughey said. “Talking about points in the paint and creating second-chance opportunities. We weren’t tough enough in that area to be able to take them out of that.”

Booker scored 12 first-half points, including six in the second quarter, as Texas built a 39-24 halftime lead.

“She’s an All-American and not a freshman All-American. She’s an All-American in all of them,” Schaefer said about Booker. “She’s one of the absolute best players in the country. She’s running our team. … To be thrown into our lineup like she’s been has really been amazing.”

Booker finished 9 of 13 shooting, and Gaston was 9 of 15 from the field.

“I think each game I have learned something new about what I can do better to grow my game and my confidence on the court and lead my team better,” Booker said.

The Cougars have lost three straight and seven of their last eight. They shot 42% and 8 of 21 on 3-pointers.

After Houston took a 22-20 lead on Kamryn Jones’ layup with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, Texas ended the half on a 19-2 run that ended with a jumper by Booker to open up the 15-point halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

Texas: The Longhorns continued to get it done on the offensive end. Texas entered averaging 83 points per game, which leads the Big 12. The 66 points was the 11th time this season the Longhorns had allowed 60 or more points.

Houston: The Cougars continued to struggled in their first season in the Big 12. Seven of Houston’s 10 losses in conference play have been by at least 16 points. Houston fell to 0-4 this season against ranked opponents.

“This is the Big 12, and there is no night off,” Hughey said. “Whatever you put on film, you have to be able to be accountable for that.”

UP NEXT

Texas: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday.

Houston: Travels to Oklahoma State on Saturday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball