There are rivalry wins, and then there are statements. Sunday afternoon at Dickies Arena was the latter. No. 2 Texas didn’t just beat No. 13 Baylor — it dismantled them, peeled back every layer, and left no doubt about who currently owns the state in women’s college basketball. The 89–54 final felt merciful compared to how brutal the process was, because for long stretches this game looked less like a top-15 showdown and more like a defensive masterclass disguised as a track meet.
Baylor landed the first punch, jumping out to a 9–4 lead that briefly teased competitiveness. Then Texas flipped the switch, turned the lights off, and started stealing everything that wasn’t bolted to the floor.
By the time the first quarter ended, the Longhorns were up 29–13. The game — and frankly Baylor’s afternoon — was already over.
For about four minutes, Baylor looked like it came ready. The ball moved, shots fell, and the Bears played with the kind of confidence you’d expect from a 10–1 team trying to make a national statement of its own.
Then Texas decided that enough was enough.
What followed was a 21–2 run that felt less like a scoring surge and more like a hostile takeover. Baylor managed one field goal in the final 7:01 of the first quarter, while Texas cranked its defensive pressure up to a level that bordered on disrespectful. Passing lanes disappeared. Dribbles turned into liabilities. Every Baylor possession felt like it came with a built-in sense of dread.
Eight Baylor turnovers in the first quarter turned into live-ball chaos the other way, and Texas was more than happy to cash in. By the time the Bears reached halftime, they’d already coughed the ball up 16 times and trailed 45–27 — and that deficit somehow undersold how tilted the floor had become.
To Baylor’s credit, the second quarter was technically their best defensive stretch, holding Texas to 16 points. But the problem was simple: Texas never took its foot off Baylor’s throat defensively, even when the shots briefly cooled.
Madison Booker didn’t just have a big game — she orchestrated one.
The sophomore star dropped 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, adding eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals while making the entire thing look effortless. Booker’s shot selection was surgical. She punished switches, finished through contact, and picked her spots without ever forcing the issue.
When Baylor tried to collapse inside, Booker made the extra pass. When they stayed home, she cooked defenders off the bounce. Eight points in the second quarter steadied Texas during Baylor’s brief defensive resistance, and her ability to read the floor kept the Longhorns humming no matter what lineup was on the court.
This wasn’t empty scoring. This was “best player on the floor by a mile” stuff.
And the scary part? Booker didn’t even need to go nuclear. Texas had options — and they used all of them.
If Booker was the conductor, Jordan Lee was the sniper stationed on the wing, finger hovering over the launch button.
Lee buried four three-pointers on her way to 19 points, two of them coming during a third-quarter stretch that officially ended any Baylor comeback dreams. Her back-to-back threes midway through the period pushed the lead past 25, and the body language on Baylor’s bench said everything.
Then there’s Rori Harmon, who continues to quietly put together one of the most absurd assist-to-turnover runs in the country. Harmon finished with 12 points and 10 assists, committing just one turnover. That’s not a typo. Over her last three games, Harmon has dished out 34 assists against two turnovers, and for the season she’s sitting at 92 assists to 17 giveaways.
She also added three steals, tying her for third on Texas’ all-time steals list — because of course she did.
This Texas team doesn’t just beat you with stars. It beats you by stacking problems until you run out of answers.
There were moments — brief, flickering moments — where Baylor showed fight.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs was relentless on the glass, pulling down 14 rebounds by herself and accounting for nearly half of Baylor’s total boards. Yuting Deng provided a spark off the bench, knocking down a pair of threes and scoring nine points. Jana Van Gytenbeek facilitated when she could, finishing with seven assists.
But the math never worked in Baylor’s favor.
The Bears shot a respectable 39.1% from the field and 37.5% from three, numbers that typically keep you competitive. The problem was everything else. Baylor turned the ball over 30 times, and Texas converted those mistakes into a jaw-dropping 42 points off turnovers.
That’s not just a margin — that’s the entire game.
Even when Baylor shot 50% in the third quarter, Texas simply matched them possession for possession, stretching the lead to as many as 38 late. You can’t outshoot a team when you’re constantly giving them extra chances.
If you’re looking for the moment that decided this game, stop hunting for a highlight dunk or logo three. This one was decided in the passing lanes.
Texas finished with 19 steals, had six players with multiple steals, and committed just seven turnovers themselves. The Longhorns won the points-in-the-paint battle 48–20 and dominated fast-break scoring 30–5, turning defense into instant offense over and over again.
This wasn’t gambling defense. This was disciplined, aggressive, connected pressure — the kind that breaks rhythm and confidence simultaneously. Baylor never looked comfortable after the first five minutes, and by the fourth quarter, the game felt like a live practice drill for Texas’ rotation depth.
Texas moves to 12–0, improves to 62–50 all-time against Baylor, and continues to look like one of the most complete teams in the country. The offense is versatile, the defense is ruthless, and the guard play is bordering on unfair.
More importantly, Texas is proving it can beat elite teams without relying on a single offensive crutch. If Booker has an off night, Harmon controls tempo. If the threes aren’t falling, the defense manufactures points. This is a team built for March — and it’s showing that identity in December.
For Baylor, the loss is a wake-up call, not a death sentence. The Bears still have talent, size, and shooting. But ball security isn’t optional against top-tier pressure, and Sunday was a reminder that effort alone doesn’t survive against elite defensive execution.
This wasn’t just Texas beating Baylor. This was Texas announcing itself.
The Longhorns didn’t need fireworks or theatrics — they weaponized defense, trusted their stars, and turned a marquee matchup into a one-sided lesson. If this rivalry game is any indication, Texas isn’t just chasing a top seed.
They’re hunting everyone.
And if you don’t protect the ball? They’ll take it — and probably score before you realize what just happened.
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