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No. 4 Texas women shoot lights-out in comfortable win
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) debates a call with the referee in the first half as the Longhorns take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at the Moody Center. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 4 Texas women shoot lights-out in comfortable win over No. 24 Vanderbilt

On Thursday, No. 4 Texas won its seventh straight game with an 87-66 win over No. 24 Vanderbilt.

The Longhorns got out to an early 21-10 lead after the first quarter. They were hard to slow down all night, shooting 52.8% overall and making nine of their 13 triples.

The team's leading scorer, sophomore forward Madison Booker, did it all, including this swat under the basket with Texas leading 44-36 nearly four minutes into the third quarter.

In total, Booker put up 20 points (7-of-12 FG), six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Freshman guard Jordan Lee's sharpshooting off the bench was a major boost. She had 12 points (3-of-5 3PT), including this one from the corner to extend Texas' lead to 52-44 with under four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Thursday night marked a second consecutive defeat for the Commodores. Even though freshman sensation Mikayla Blakes (22 points, 8-of-14 FG) shined once again, it was sophomore forward Khamil Pierre leading the way with 26 points and seven rebounds.

Vanderbilt's long-range shooting was its downfall once again. After shooting just 22.2% in a 76-61 loss to Ole Miss on Feb. 2, it was only 2-of-11 (18.2%) against Texas. For a team that had won four straight prior to its current drought, Vanderbilt (18-6, 5-5 SEC) needs other players to step up and improve its three-point shooting as a whole if it is going to improve its positioning in the SEC and beyond.

Since suffering its only conference loss to No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 12, Texas (23-2, 9-1 SEC) has been next-to-unstoppable, with only two of its seven consecutive wins decided by four points or less.

With a rematch against the Gamecocks on Sunday and a road trip to Lexington to face a hot-shooting 11th-ranked Kentucky squad on Thursday, the Longhorns need to continue shooting at a high percentage and get to the charity stripe after making 22-of-26 on Thursday night.

Colby Colwell

Colby Colwell is a freelance contributor with a bachelor’s in Computer & Information Technology and a minor in Psychology from Western Kentucky University. With a deep passion for sports, especially NASCAR, he offers his substantial knowledge along with his adept writing skills. When he’s not writing, Colby enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family

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