ESTERO, Fla. — Madison Booker knocked down a jumper with 18 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and Justice Carlton stole the ball with four second remaining to lift Texas to a 78-73 victory over No. 12/10 West Virginia in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Sunday at Hertz Arena.
Rori Harmon was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and Madison Booker was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Four Texas players scored in double figures led by Aaliyah Moore with 20 points and Booker with 19. Kyla Oldacre recorded 13 points and Justice Carlton added 10.
The Longhorns (7-0) forced West Virginia (8-1) into eight first quarter turnovers and jumped out to a 17-12 lead at the end of the first period.
The Longhorns created come separation in the second quarter with a Madison Booker 3-pointer and a Justice Carlton fastbreak layup. The Longhorns used an 11-0 run to go up 30-16.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 first half points for Texas and the Longhorns took a 36-29 lead into the halftime break.
Moore provided the Longhorns momentum to open the second half as she scored a basket and was fouled. She completed the three-point play to put Texas up 46-36. West Virginia kept it close with a 6-0 run and get within four at 52-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Justice Carlton got a key offensive rebound and putback and Madison Booker knocked down a 3-pointer to put Texas up 63-55 with 4:48 to play.
After a West Virginia 3-pointer Texas led by one at 74-73 with 43 seconds to play before Booker sank a jumper to put Texas up 76-73. Justice Carlton stole the ball from West Virginia and was fouled to secure the win for the Longhorns.
Up next the Longhorns travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame in the SEC-ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6:00 p.m. CT.
Postgame Notes:
Two days after being bounced from the Big 12 women's basketball tournament in the second round, Arizona State has fired women's basketball coach Natasha Adair.
The SEC men’s basketball regular season draws to a close as the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers battle the No. 7 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in this fierce in-stat
The top-ranked Auburn Tigers will look to get back into the win column when they battle
It’s the last day of the regular season in the Big East, with five games on Saturday that will shape Big East Tournament seeding and in UConn’s case, cou