No. 14 Texas beats No. 6 Baylor, 67-58, to win Big 12 Tournament title

Head coach Vic Schaefer and the No. 14 Texas Longhorns finally overcame the No. 6 Baylor Bears, 67-58, at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City to claim the program’s first conference title since 2003 and end a 13-game losing streak against the Bears.

Led by 20 points from the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, freshman guard Rori Harmon, who shot 8-of-10 from the field and made all four of her free-throw attempts, Texas won its 11th straight game to head into the NCAA Tournament with serious momentum and a high seed. Harmon played every minute in the last two games, scoring 50 combined points on 59-percent shooting with nine assists and zero turnovers.

Senior guard Joanne Allen-Tayor added 14 points and freshman forward Aaliyah Moore scored 12 points of her own as Texas used a big second quarter to pull away from Baylor and never allowed the Bears back into the game — Baylor only led for less than five minutes.

Texas had a 23-14 advantage in that crucial second quarter thanks to a 10-of-15 shooting performance from the field while forcing five turnovers by Baylor. In the first half, Texas shot 56 percent and had a 20-12 advantage in points in the paint.

The swarming defense of the Longhorns forced 16 turnovers in the game and was opportunistic in those circumstances, scoring 19 points from those turnovers. In contrast, Baylor was only able to score five points off nine turnovers by Texas.

Texas will find out its seed and NCAA Tournament opponent will be revealed at 7 p.m. Central on ESPN.