Booker helps No. 7 Texas rout No. 8 Maryland at Coretta Scott King Classic

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Madison Booker scored 28 points and No. 7 Texas routed eighth-ranked Maryland 89-51 on Monday in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic.

The doubleheader that also featured No. 1 UCLA and 25th-ranked Baylor was created to honor King’s legacy and celebrate female empowerment in sports. It’s the first time the names of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King have been licensed for a sporting event. The Bruins won 72-57.

Texas (18-2) jumped all over Maryland thanks to Booker. The preseason All-American had 13 points in the opening quarter as the Longhorns went up 28-12 after one quarter. It was 48-18 at the half.

Maryland (16-2) never threatened in the second half.

Kaylene Smikle led the Terrapins with 15 points, she was 11 of 12 from the foul line.

Maryland announced before the game that reserve guard Bri McDaniel is out for the season with a torn ACL in her right knee, suffered last week against Minnesota.

Takeaways

Texas looked like one of the best teams in the country with Booker dominating. The Longhorns have a few weeks before their rematch with No. 2 South Carolina, which they lost to by 17 points eight days ago.

Maryland has a busy week ahead with games at No. 12 Ohio State before hosting No. 1 UCLA on Sunday. They can't afford to get off to as poor a start as they did on Monday in either of those games.

Key moment

Texas led 6-5 before scoring 13 straight points to blow the game open early. Booker had seven points during the game-changing run.

Key stat

The Longhorns made 37 field goals — five less than Maryland attempted in the game. The Terrapins had 27 turnovers.

Up next

Texas hosts No. 17 Tennessee on Thursday while Maryland visits 12th-ranked Ohio State the same night.

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