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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Freshman Joyner Holmes arrived at Texas with a big reputation. After a slow start on Wednesday, Holmes showed why.
The forward scored 20 of her 22 points during the final three quarters to lead No. 8 Texas past Houston Baptist 98-46.
Among the top recruits in the country, the 6-foot-3 Holmes went 8 of 17 from the field with nine rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes.
Holmes could have scored more, but she missed several shots early from close range.
"I'm going get in the gym and start making layups," said Holmes, of Cedar Hill, Texas.
Brooke McCarty had 16 points and Ariel Atkins and Jada Underwood each scored 11 for Texas (1-1).
Lauren Calver led Houston Baptist (0-2) with 11 points, followed by Amanda Johnson with 10.
Texas led 19-3 and forced five turnovers in the first four minutes. The Huskies finished the first quarter with eight turnovers — which Texas turned into 16 points — but trailed by only 11 after making four 3-pointers.
Texas led 57-21 at halftime. Houston Baptist finished with 25 turnovers.
Texas encountered a reality check on Monday night on national television, losing 71-59 at No. 11 Stanford. Holmes finished with just three points and three rebounds in 17 minutes against the Cardinal, and other Texas players struggled as well.
Holmes is among four new Longhorns who played in the first two games.
"We do have some things we have to dramatically improve on," Texas coach Karen Aston said. "You can't discount jitters in the way we played at Stanford. Some of them need to pay more attention in practice, and they need to pay more attention to detail. Some of them had a little of that 'this is my first game look.'"
BIG PICTURE
Houston Baptist: Coach Donna Finnie has a young team with five freshmen and four sophomores. They've already faced top-10 teams in their first two games — the Huskies lost by 75 points at No. 2 Baylor on Friday. Houston Baptist will move back to its own weight class for most of the remaining non-conference season and in the Southland Conference.
"People must think we're crazy," Finnie said of her tough schedule. "I want to test the team early on."
Texas: After reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite 8 the past two seasons, the Longhorns' goal is the Final Four in Dallas. The next real test comes Sunday at No. 10 Mississippi State. ... McCarty, a junior, has shifted from shooting guard to point guard after the graduation of Celina Rodrigo. McCarty is averaging 18 points through two games and has converted 6 of 10 3-pointers.
MAKE SOME NOISE
The Houston Baptist game was an opportunity for Texas to gain young fans with its annual weekday game. Free tickets were provided to about 5,000 kids from more than 40 elementary schools. Total announced attendance was 6,378.
"It's always a lot of fun to play this game," Aston said. "When you walk out there and you hear those screaming kids, it's really exciting. It's community involvement and that is something our players and our program take seriously. Hoping we can get them interested in women's basketball in particular and basketball is a great thing."
UP NEXT
Houston Baptist: The Huskies host Rice on Saturday.
Texas: The Longhorns travel to No. 10 Mississippi State on Sunday.
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