Texas pulls away from quarterfinal foe Kansas to advance at Big 12 basketball tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. − Texas won't say good-bye to the Big 12 just yet.

Paced by Madison Booker and Aaliyah Moore and ignited by Shay Holle, Texas fought off a challenge from Kansas in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday evening. Booker and Moore combined for 40 points in a 76-60 win for the Southeastern Conference-bound Longhorns.

The second seed in the tournament's bracket, Texas (28-4) advances to play either Kansas State or West Virginia in the Big 12 semifinals. That semifinal showdown will take place on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The Longhorns entered Saturday's fourth quarter with a 48-43 advantage on the scoreboard, and Holle quickly set the tone for the final frame. Over the first 80 seconds of the fourth quarter, the fourth-year guard knocked down two 3-pointers and a jumper.

Holle entered the Big 12 Tournament averaging 7.6 points per game. Her eighth point of the fourth quarter gave UT a 56-47 lead with 8:40 left, and Kansas was unable to get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.

The Big 12 Co-Player of the Year, Booker finished with 21 points and seven assists. Moore had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Texas also got double-digit scoring efforts from Taylor Jones and Holle.

Kansas (19-12) was led by freshman guard S'Mya Nichols' 20 points. The Jayhawks were listed as a No. 10 seed in ESPN's most-recent bracketology projections.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, Kansas meet in quarterfinals at Big 12 basketball tournament