By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Ariel Atkins scored 15 points and No. 2 seed Texas used a dominant third quarter on its home court to roll to an 86-42 win over No. 15 Alabama State on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament opener.
Texas raced to a big early lead but defensive lapses and poor shooting let Alabama State hang around longer than the Hornets probably expected. That all changed in with a 26-5 Texas run in the third that had the Longhorns cruising into the NCAA Tournament's second round.
Empress Davenport scored 13 points for Texas (29-4), which lost a first-round game the last time it hosted the tournament in 2010. This time, the Big 12 runner-up Longhorns shook off the early game miscues to shrug off an Alabama State team that was overmatched at almost every position.
Danielle Clark scored 13 points for Alabama State (19-12).
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