No. 5 Texas' defense overwhelms UCF in blowout victory

ORLANDO, FL (AP) — Madison Booker scored 22 points to lead No. 5 Texas to an 87-56 victory over UCF on Saturday for its eighth straight win.

The Longhorns (26-3, 13-3 Big 12) held the Knights (12-14, 3-13) to four points in the second quarter to take a 21-point lead into the locker room at halftime. UCF shot only 35.3% percent for the game.

Taylor Jones scored 15 and Shay Holle added 14 for Texas, which had five players in double-digit scoring. Shaylee Gonzales had 13 and Deyona Gaston chipped in 12.

UCF struggled to get into its offense against Texas' defense, getting outscored 23-4 in the second quarter as the Longhorns broke the game open. They forced 21 turnovers for 28 Texas points. Texas had seven steals.

UCF leading scorer Kaitlin Peterson struggled to get going, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting. She entered the game averaging 20.3 points per game.

Timia Ware led the Knights with 16 points.

The Longhorns forced 16 first-half turnovers for 21 points to stake their lead. The Knights went scoreless for the final 4:25 of the second quarter. UCF had two scoreless droughts of five minutes or longer in the first half, helping give Texas a 39-18 lead at the break.

The Knights got as close as 15 points twice in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Texas continued to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume with its eighth win in a row. The Longhorns are chasing No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 10 Kansas State atop the Big 12 standings.

UCF is still trying to find its footing in the Big 12. The Knights sit in last place in the conference with two games remaining before the Big 12 Tournament begins.

UP NEXT

Texas: Plays its final road game of the regular season against No. 23 Oklahoma on Wednesday.

UCF: Concludes its home schedule against Kansas on Wednesday.

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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