Madison Booker Scores 24 as No. 6 Texas Opens With an 85-65 Win Over Fairleigh Dickinson

Photo: Texas Athletics. Official roster headshot of Madison Booker, Texas women's basketball, 2026-27 season.

Madison Booker scored 24 points as No. 6 Texas beat Fairleigh Dickinson 85-65 on Wednesday night at Moody Center in Austin. She added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals to open her senior season, per the Associated Press. Texas led 30-8 after one quarter. The Knights outscored the Longhorns 57-55 over the last three, by our count.

Booker shot 10 of 20 from the field, 1 of 4 from 3-point range and 3 of 3 at the line in 32 minutes, per ESPN's box score. Her five steals were five of Texas' eight. Her 24 points were 28.2% of the Texas total, by our count.

Booker entered the season with 1,969 career points, per Texas Athletics, which put her 31 away from becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 2,000. She is now 7 away, by our count.

15-0, then 30-8

Texas scored the first 15 points of the game, by our count from ESPN's play-by-play. Breya Cunningham opened it with a 3-pointer at 9:49, and Booker's two free throws at 4:30 made it 15-0. Rebecca Osei-Owusu's layup was Fairleigh Dickinson's first basket.

Booker scored 13 points in the first quarter and Cunningham scored 11, by our count. The Longhorns led 30-8 after 10 minutes.

Cunningham had 13 points and nine rebounds by halftime, per the AP, and Texas led 44-27. The lead reached 28 points, per ESPN, at 70-42 early in the fourth quarter.

The Knights' 3-point shooting

Fairleigh Dickinson made 10 of 20 from 3-point range and outshot Texas 48% to 45.3% from the field, per the AP. The Knights won the second quarter 19-14 and the fourth 23-19, per FDU Athletics. They shot 9 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

Reese Downey, a sophomore, scored a career-high 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 5 of 11 from deep, per FDU Athletics. Ane Valle had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and seven rebounds. Iriona Gravley had nine points and four steals, and Leah Crosby, a freshman, had nine points and two blocks.

Team totals, per ESPN's box score:

| Category | Texas | Fairleigh Dickinson | | --- | --- | --- | | Field goals | 34-75 (45.3%) | 26-54 (48.1%) | | 3-pointers | 5-12 | 10-20 | | Free throws | 12-14 | 3-7 | | Rebounds | 43 | 29 | | Offensive rebounds | 20 | 7 | | Turnovers | 9 | 18 | | Points off turnovers | 22 | 10 | | Points in the paint | 34 | 26 |

Texas took 21 more shots than Fairleigh Dickinson and had 13 more offensive rebounds, by our count. The Knights' 18 turnovers became 22 Texas points, per the AP.

Cunningham finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting in 29 minutes, per ESPN. Seven of her rebounds were offensive. She averaged 19 minutes, 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game last season, per the AP.

Isi Etute, a 6-foot-2 freshman, had nine points and five rebounds off the bench. Zya Vann and Jayda Clark each scored seven.

The context

Texas reached the Final Four in 2025 and 2026, per Texas Athletics, and is 103-13 since the start of the 2023-24 season. Booker has made the AP's All-America first team twice, per the AP. Texas Athletics says she was named an AP preseason All-American for the third straight year.

The Longhorns lost point guard Rori Harmon, who plays professionally in Turkey, per the AP. Jordan Lee transferred to South Carolina, Aaliyah Crump to Duke and Justice Carlton to Houston, and center Kyla Oldacre was a senior last season. Vann came from Oklahoma and Clark from Australia.

Texas Athletics listed a program-record 44 straight wins at Moody Center entering the game. Wednesday made it 45, by our count. The crowd was 9,688.

Fairleigh Dickinson is the two-time defending Northeast Conference champion, per the AP, and was picked first in the NEC preseason poll, per FDU Athletics. The Knights are 0-2 after opening at Baylor.

Texas entered the season No. 6 in the AP Top 25. It hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday. Fairleigh Dickinson hosts East Stroudsburg on Monday.

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Sources:

• Associated Press: All-American Booker scores 24 as No. 6 Texas beats Fairleigh Dickinson 85-65
• FDU Athletics: Women's Basketball Battles No. 6 Texas, Falls 85-65
• Texas Athletics: No. 6 Women's Basketball preview: FDU
• Texas Athletics: FDU vs. Texas box score
• ESPN: Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas box score and play-by-play
• NCAA.com: AP Top 25 women's basketball poll