Booker scores 20 and No. 1 Texas opens March Madness with 105-61 win over No. 16 William & Mary

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Taylor Jones scored 19 points as No. 1 seed Texas opened the women's NCAA Tournament with a 105-61 victory over No. 16 William & Mary on Saturday night.

Booker had her double-double by the end of the third quarter for the Longhorns (32-3), who advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 8 Illinois (22-9), which beat No. 9 Creighton earlier Saturday.

Texas is a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year after reaching No. 1 during the regular season for the first time since 2004 and winning a share of the Southeastern Conference championship. The All-American Booker was the league's player of the year.

Yet the early moments of their tournament were anything but smooth against a quick and spunky opponent making the most of its chance in the spotlight. William & Mary (16-19), which had never made the tournament until this year, quickly tested Texas with an up-tempo attack that had the Longhorns off balance early.

“We looked like we hadn't played in two weeks,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’ve had a long layoff. But I have to give them credit. That team was fearless. That’s what I want my team to be.”

The Tribe were within 23-18 at the end of the first quarter before Texas slowly and steadily enforced its will to take control.

The Longhorns' considerable size advantage with Jones and Kyla Oldacre in the post, and the 6-1 Booker on the wing, had Texas dominating rebounding and scoring in the paint. Oldacre finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

“When Taylor and Kyla are at their best, they are hard to stop. One subs out and another one comes in,” Booker said.

Bryanna Preston finished a fast break with a layup, Oldacre muscled her way over two defenders for a basket and Booker scored twice as Texas opened an 18-point lead and took control from there.

Bella Nascimento led William & Mary with 19 points.

“We came out swinging, come out fighting. We did everything we could to stay in the game,” Nascimento said.

William & Mary: The Tribe's first NCAA Tournament was short but sweet: They got a chance to taste victory with their First Four win over High Point. The Tribe was the only team in this year's tournament with a losing record, and coach Erin Dickerson Davis and her program had success to build on. After the game, the players gathered in a group hug on the court and cheered.

“We're so happy to have had this season and I'm proud of these girls,” Dickerson Davis said. “They have laid the foundation. Now we have a standard. We were fighting to get there. We have a taste of it.”

Texas: The Longhorns were uneven on both ends of the floor for long stretches, with sloppy passes early and leaving open shooters on the perimeter. Texas was never in danger of losing, but Schaefer has plenty to clean up going forward as the competition only gets better.

“We’ll need to play better,” Schaefer said. "I don't think anyone in my locker room thought we played very well, and yet we win by 40.”

Texas made just three 3-pointers but dominated scoring in the paint 56-22.

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Texas guard Rori Harmon, left, pressures William & Mary guard Bella Nascimento (5) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Denmark provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for violations of U.S. sanctions, a Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday, despite tensions between the allies over the Trump administration’s desire for control of Greenland.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.

But acknowledgement of Danish support for the U.S. operation comes after tensions spiraled between the NATO allies as President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland. The vast Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weekslong pursuit of the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned vessels coming in and out of the South American country.

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first reported by Newsmax.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House to discuss Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said earlier Tuesday that Vance would host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, in Washington this week.

Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the Danish parliament’s foreign policy committee that Vance had expressed a wish to take part and that he will host the meeting at the White House, with Rubio in attendance. Neither the White House nor Vance’s office responded immediately to emails and text messages seeking comment.

Løkke Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, has been foreign minister since 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

At a joint news conference with Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that Greenland isn’t for sale, Danish media reported. He said that the island is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland doesn’t want to be owned or ruled by the U.S.

Frederiksen also said Greenland isn’t for sale and underlined Denmark’s willingness to invest in Arctic security. She said it hasn’t been easy to stand up to unacceptable pressure from a close ally and there are many indications that the most difficult part lies ahead.

Tensions have grown this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark.

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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)