Texas women’s basketball will be looking to carry its unbeaten start into SEC play when the Longhorns begin their conference slate against Missouri on Thursday night. 

Coach Vic Schaefer‘s team, ranked second nationally behind only UConn, already has five ranked victories on its ledger, including top-five wins over UCLA and South Carolina. The Longhorns (15-0) most recently pounded Southeastern Louisiana, 120-38, marking the sixth time this season that they’ve hit triple digits. 

The Tigers (12-3) are seeking out a landmark victory under first-year coach Kellie Harper, who was fired from the Tennessee job after five seasons leading the Lady Vols. Mizzou, which is also playing its first conference game, went 2-2 against power conference opposition during the nonconference portion of its schedule. The Tigers are coming off an overtime win over Summit League foe Kansas City. 

The Longhorns closed the half on a 14-7 run to take their first lead of the game and hold the advantage heading into the intermission. Grace Slaughter and Madison Booker paced both the offenses in the first half, with 15 and 13 points, respectively. 

Madison Booker is beginning to take over the game as the Longhorns draw closer. She’s got 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. 

The Tigers shot 69% from the field in the first stanza to claim an early lead, but the Longhorns attempted seven more field goals than their hosts thans to six Missouri turnovers and five Texas offensive rebounds. Mizzou’s Grace Slaughter posted eight points to lead all scorers. 

The Tigers have started fast from the 3-point arc, cashing in on four of their five attempts from range to open up an early lead. Texas has used a balanced scoring attack to keep pace, as well as four offensive rebounds.Â