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

Texas Longhorns guard Shay Holle (10) reaches over to scoop the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) the the Longhorns in the first half of their game against the Kansas Jayhawks at the Moody Center in Austin, Jan 16, 2024. Texas won the game 91-56.
Texas Longhorns guard Shay Holle (10) reaches over to scoop the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) the the Longhorns in the first half of their game against the Kansas Jayhawks at the Moody Center in Austin, Jan 16, 2024. Texas won the game 91-56.

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