No. 9 Texas rolls past Texas Rio Grande Valley 93-58
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Aliyah Matharu scored 18 points in just 19 minutes, and No. 9 Texas defeated Texas Rio Grande Valley 93-58 on Sunday.
The game was a last-minute addition made Friday as both schools had league games postponed because of the coronavirus. The Vaqueros were supposed to play at New Mexico State while the Longhorns were originally playing at No. 14 Baylor.
Matharu converted 6 of 12 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 3-pointers. Lauren Ebo and Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 13 each for Texas, and Aaliah Moore collected 15 rebounds in 23 minutes.
UTRGV (5-9) was out rebounded 51-28.
Taylor Muff scored 17 for UTRGV, making five 3-pointers. Muff is a graduate student playing college basketball for the first time after four years of volleyball at Northern Colorado.
Sara Bershers scored six, nine fewer than her team-best average.
Texas (11-2) was physically dominated inside during a loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Longhorns made an effort to pass the ball inside to its centers and power forwards against UTRGV, which had only one player taller than 6 feet available. Texas had a 40-22 edge in points in the paint.
Neither team valued possession of the ball. UTRGV committed 28 turnovers, and Texas made 22.
BIG PICTURE
UTRGV: The Vaqueros were missing seven players with either COVID or injuries, including starting guard Jena Williams. Burcu Soysal, a 6-5 reserve center, also was out, leaving UTRGV with 6-3 Iva Belosevic as its only player taller than 6 feet. She played 20 minutes, 13 more than her average, trying to counter the Longhorns’ size advantage.
Texas: Freshman reserve guard Kyndall Hunter, a coveted recruit for Texas, did not play, a decision Schaefer made before the game, a team spokesman said, adding that injury and COVID were not factors. Hunter was not on the bench. She made seven 3-point baskets in the season opener against New Orleans and has averaged just 11 minutes and 5.9 points in seven games.
UP NEXT
UTRGV: Is at Chicago State on Thursday.
Texas: Hosts Kansas on Wednesday.
