As it advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 65-54 win over Alabama at Moody Center on Sunday night, the Texas defense made a statement.

Alabama was limited to a 21-for-62 shooting performance. Texas blocked 11 shots, and Alabama was forced into 15 turnovers.

And the Longhorns only needed four players for one of those stops.

With 8:10 left in the third quarter, Texas turned the basketball over while trying to get Aaliyah Moore a look in the paint. As Alabama raced the other way, only four Longhorns were on the court to defend. Despite having numbers, Alabama still missed its shot and was unable to cut into UT's 37-24 lead. After grabbing the rebound, Texas called a timeout and subbed in a fifth player.

So, what happened?

On UT's possession, the front of Moore's head drew contact from the hand of Alabama freshman forward Essence Cody. The contact was forceful enough to partially knock Moore's wig off. The junior forward then left the court to fix her hair.

Moore later explained that her wig was sewn down in the back but glued in the front. That is why it didn't fully come off her head. Moore said that "This has never happened in my life. She had to hit me hard for it to come off."

"It happens to the best of us. I can remember Angel Reese, it's happened to the girl from South Carolina. So I'm just joining the group. It's happened to one of my teammates, I ain't gonna put her on blast," Moore said. "I was just working so hard. That just proves to show how hard I was working y'all because I promise you it was secure.

"I'm not tripping. We won the game. I had a good game, my team played well. It's off to the next, baby."

The abrupt departure left Texas with just center Taylor Jones and guards Madison Booker, Shaylee Gonzales and Shay Holle on the floor. Gonzales and Holle said they immediately knew what had happened, and Holle likened that situation to a drill that UT often runs in its practices.

"We've done that (5-on-4) situation in practice before. It's kind of like a transition, disadvantage drill at that point," Holle said. "We all saw what happened. We all knew we needed to help out a little bit."

And the fact that Texas got a stop despite being outmanned? Gonzales said that just proves that the Longhorns are "just all locked in and focused. We know where everyone is on the floor and we scout out other players and other teams so we know what the tendencies are of each player."

After getting her hair fixed, Moore re-entered the game less than two minutes after UT's timeout. She finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

In the victory, Moore asserted a dominance in the paint that is seemingly becoming customary for this time of the year. Over six career games in the NCAA Tournament, the 6-foot-1 Moore is now averaging 14.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. But she also showed off a few new tricks on Sunday evening. The fourth 3-pointer of her junior year came with the shot clock expiring at a key moment in the third quarter, and she recorded two of her season's six blocks against the Crimson Tide.

"She's such a great player. She does such a great job of making a decision at the high post. She'll take you off the bounce. She can post you up," Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. "Really credit her. She had a big day for them today. That was the difference a lot."

Texas (32-4) now turns its attention to the Sweet 16. The Longhorns will head to Portland where a third-round matchup with either Utah or Gonzaga awaits on Friday.

But the Sweet 16 isn't the only thing that Moore has to look forward to this week. She already had a hair appointment scheduled for Monday. She's getting a sew-in this time.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas temporarily plays shorthanded against Alabama in NCAA Tournament