Booker and No. 1 Texas dispatch No. 8 Illinois 65-48 to send the Longhorns back to the Sweet 16

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker scored 20 points and No. 1-seed Texas used a smothering defense to earn a 65-48 victory over No. 8 Illinois on Monday, sending the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 19 points for Texas (33-3), which will meet Southeastern Conference rival No. 5 Tennessee (24-9) in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday.

Texas outscored Illinois 18-6 in the second quarter, then broke the game open at the start of the third when the Longhorns stretched the lead to 24 after steals by Booker and Rori Harmon led to quick baskets.

Texas' relentless ball pressure harassed Illinois (22-10) the entire game, and the Longhorns scored 23 points off 20 Illini turnovers.

Mwenentanda had started 12 of the Longhorns' previous 14 games but was on the bench for tipoff again as Texas inserted freshman guard Jordan Lee in her place.

She responded by scoring a career high in points on 7 of 10 shooting and also grabbed six rebounds.

Adalia McKenzie led Illinois with 13 points.

Takeaways

Illinois: The Illini earned the program's first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years in the first round against Creighton, but they will lose four senior starters, notably Kendall Bostic, the program's career rebounds leader.

Texas: A No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year, the Longhorns will be looking to make the Elite Eight for the fourth time since 2022.

Key stat

Texas didn't make a 3-pointer and has just three in its first two tournament games. The Longhorns averaged just three per game during the season.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

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Booker and No. 1 Texas dispatch No. 8 Illinois 65-48 to send the Longhorns back to the Sweet 16

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