Madison Booker Stats Tonight: How did Texas star perform vs South Carolina in Women's March Madness Final Four (Apr. 4)
Texas forward Madison Booker had a tough night offensively during the first Final Four in college. She finished with 11 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal for the Longhorns, as they lost to defending champion South Carolina 74-57 on Friday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Booker shot 5-for-11 and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line in 24 minutes for the Vic Schaefer-coached team. The forward had a good start in the first quarter, making three quick jumpers to hand Texas a 12-4 lead.
However, the 6-foot-1 forward was whistled for two quick fouls, 21 seconds apart. Booker fouled Joyce Edwards with 3:25 left, sending the freshman to the foul line, and making both attempts.
She committed her second foul on a loose ball scramble with 3:04 remaining, forcing Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer to sit her out. Booker returned to the game with 5:01 left in the second quarter and made one free throw that gave Texas a 33-31 edge.
However, she was called for her third foul, bumping Tessa Johnson on the backcourt with 2:29 remaining before halftime. With the third foul, she sat out for the second time in the game.
Booker came back in the third quarter and made her fourth jumper of the game to come within six of South Carolina's lead. She made her fifth and last jumper at the 7:10 mark to cut the Gamecocks' lead to 45-39.
The defending champions clamped down on Booker in the following minutes, forcing her to miss two jumpers and commit a turnover. Her miscues mired Texas to a 58-44 deficit, heading to the payoff period.
Down by 14, Booker missed another attempt before she was benched at the 5:32 mark of the game, with the Longhorns waving the white flag.
Here are Madison Booker's final stats in the Final Four game against South Carolina:
Madison Booker, Texas couldn't respond to South Carolina's dreaded third-quarter assault
Madison Booker and Texas were still in the game in the opening portion of the third quarter. The forward responded to the Gamecocks' attempts to pull away, making jump shots.
However, South Carolina stormed to a 13-2 run that turned a 45-39 lead into a 58-41 advantage. Dawn Staley's team limited Texas to one field goal in a fiery six-minute stretch that destroyed Texas' chances to make their first national championship final since 1986.
The Longhorns were limited to 39.3% from the field and were out rebounded 36-29. They also lost the assists battle 17-10 as the Gamecocks' defense clogged the passing lanes, especially in the second half, where they limited Texas to 22 points.
Jordan Lee came off the bench to lead the Longhorns' offense with 16 points while Rori Harmon added eight.
Te-Hina Paopao scored for South Carolina with 14 points while Joyce Edwards and Bree Hall added 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Gamecocks will face the winner of the UConn-UCLA Final Four encounter in the national finals set on Sunday.
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