Moore powers Texas over Utah, into Sweet 16

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Aaliyah Moore scored 21 points, Texas shut down Utah's prolific 3-point shooting and the Longhorns earned another trip to the Sweet 16 with a 78-56 victory Sunday.

The Longhorns shot 71% in a blistering first half to open up a 14-point lead, then stretched it as high as 26 in the third quarter. Defensively, Texas smothered Utah shooters. The Utes made 15 3-pointers in a first-round win over Arkansas, but were just 6 of 20 from long range against Texas.

The No. 2 seed in the Spokane, Washington, regional, Texas (28-6) moves on to face the winner of matchup Monday night between No. 3 seed Baylor and and No. 6 Ohio State. The Longhorns advanced to the regional final last season.

Kennady McQueen led No. 7 Utah ( 21-12) with 18 points.

Moore has emerged as one of breakout players of the tournament's first two rounds. After 18 points and 10 rebounds against Fairfield, she came off the bench to score 14 in the second quarter against Utah as the game turned into a romp. Moore was 9-of-10 shooting for the game.

Texas led 19-17 after the first quarter as the teams raced up and down the court. But after forcing just one turnover in the first period, Texas' lockdown defense forced six in the second. A steady diet of passes from Rori Harmon to Moore in the post quickly stretched the Longhorns' lead to double digits.

Harmon then opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer from the left wing and a 3-point play by Moore had the lead up to 20.

The wave of 3-pointers Utah produced in the first round rippled only briefly when McQueen hit three in the first quarter, but never returned in time to rally the Utes.

BIG PICTURE

Utah: The Utes only start one senior, guard Dru Gylten, on a team that earned the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 and led the Pac-12 in scoring.

Texas: Utah would have figured to have the depth to match the Longhorns in a fast-paced game. The Utes looked fresh after their first game rout, only to see Texas outscore the Utes off the bench 44-10 as Moore and guard Aliyah Matharu combined for 35 points.

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