GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Jordan Lee scored 16 points, Madison Booker contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in limited action and No. 4 Texas rolled into the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals with 83-60 victory over Alabama on Friday night.
Bryanna Preston added 13 points for Texas, which has won six straight.
Texas (29-3) will face No. 24 Mississippi, an 89-78 winner over No. 5 Vanderbilt, on Saturday. No. 3 South Carolina and No. 6 LSU square off in the other semifinal.
Diana Collins, Jessica Timmons and Alancia Ramsey each scored eight points for Alabama (23-10), the only unranked team to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals.
This one was never competitive.
Alabama, which lost five of its final six regular-season games, seemed to find its footing by beating Missouri and Tennessee in the tournament’s first two rounds. But the Crimson Tide appeared to have run out gas by the time tipoff arrived Friday night.
The Longhorns made 16 of 29 shots from the field to open the game and sprinted to a 40-12 lead early in the second quarter in front of a sparse crowd.
Texas forced 14 turnovers in the first half and led by 33 at the break.
The lopsided margin afforded Texas coach Vic Schaefer an opportunity to rest his starters and other key players ahead of Saturday’s game.
Booker, a preseason AP All-American, might have had a shot at a triple-double had she played more than 18 minutes. She finished 5 of 8 from the field.
Up next
Alabama: Awaits its NCAA Tournament fate.
Texas: Will face Ole Miss, which it defeated 67-64 at home in early January.
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