March Madness 2022: Aaliyah Moore powers Texas women over Utah, into Sweet 16

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Freshman Aaliyah Moore scored 21 points, Texas shut down Utah's prolific 3-point shooting and the Longhorns earned another trip to the Sweet 16 with a 78-56 victory Sunday.

The Longhorns shot 71% in a blistering first half to open up a 14-point lead, then stretched it as high as 26 in the third quarter. Defensively, Texas smothered Utah shooters. The Utes made 15 3-pointers in a first-round win over Arkansas, but were just 6 of 20 from long range against Texas.

"Everybody’s got a plan coming out," Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said. "But at the end of the day, our pressure usually wears on you a little bit and I thought it did today."

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Texas forward Aaliyah Moore (21) drives around Utah forward Kelsey Rees, left, during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA women's tournament, Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The No. 2 seed in the Spokane, Washington, regional, Texas (28-6) moves on to face the winner of the matchup Monday night between No. 3 seed LSU and No. 6 Ohio State. The Longhorns advanced to the regional final last season.

Kennady McQueen led No. 7 Utah ( 21-12) with 18 points.

Moore has emerged as one of breakout players of the tournament's first two rounds. Hampered in part by an ankle injury during the regular season, she hadn't scored more than 12 points until the NCAA Tournament.

She had 18 points and 10 rebounds in first round win over Fairfield, then came off the bench to score 14 in the second quarter against Utah as the game turned into a romp. Moore was 9-of-10 shooting for the game. Most of it came near the