Do-everything guard Rori Harmon leads No. 1 seed Texas into final home game vs. No. 8 seed Oregon
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For five seasons, Rori Harmon has lit up the Texas home crowd with her quick cuts to the basket, pinpoint passing and fearless play, diving for loose balls anywhere on the court.
On Sunday, the Longhorns point guard gets one last March Madness moment at home when No. 1 seed Texas (32-3) plays eighth-seeded Oregon (23-12) in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 in Fort Worth.
“I want to play with passion and play smart for my teammates,” Harmon said Saturday. “I don’t want to get outside myself just because it’s the last game. But I want to play with Texas fight and honor the university.”
Standing just 5-foot-6, Harmon has played a huge role the program’s resurgence under coach Vic Schaefer. He first recruited Harmon when he was at Mississippi State, then made her the cornerstone of his first recruiting class at Texas.
Her impact was immediate and lasting. Harmon is the only player in Division I history with more than 1,500 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 350 steals. Her 946 assists rank 10th in NCAA history.
The Longhorns are a No. 1 seed for a third consecutive season. Last season’s trip to the Final Four was the program’s first since 2003.
Along the way, Texas has won 43 consecutive games at Moody Center, which opened in 2022.
“She’s been a part of me for almost as long as I’ve been here,” Schaefer said, warning that he might get emotional just talking about her. “Incredible competitor … She’s just really been everything to our program.”
There were some hard times, too. A knee injury in a pregame shootaround ended her 2023-2024 season after just a handful of games.
Before the injury, Harmon and newly arrived freshman Madison Booker had dismantled UConn at home. It was a hint of their sparkling future together. With Harmon out, Booker carried the Longhorns through a season that included a Big 12 championship before it ended in the Elite Eight.
With her bright smile and bouncy hair, Harmon was the face of the Texas program. That role now falls to Booker, a three-time All-American. But Booker defers to Harmon as the engineer of Texas’ success.
“Rori is a leader, you can’t take that away from her. Everybody loves her. Everybody wants to play with her,” Booker said. “She’s a big reason why I can came here.”
In Texas’ 87-45 first-round win over Missouri State, Harmon had seven points and her three assists. She didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
Harmon will be likely be showered with cheers from fans who have loved every moment the scrappy, bouncing dynamo has given them.
“I am a fan,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “They have a lot of really good players. She’s the one who makes them go. They’re always on attack with her on both ends of the floor. She’s either in your shorts defensively, or she looking to attack and create for others.”
Oregon has some Texas connections
Ducks senior forward Amina Muhammad is a Texas transfer who was with the Longhorns when they reached the Elite Eight in 2024. She averages 3.6 points and played 14 minutes in the Ducks’ first round win over Virginia Tech.
Oregon star forward Ehis Etute’s sister Joyce Isi Etute is a top recruit who has signed to play with Texas next season. The sisters talked on Wednesday and rivalry lines were quickly drawn.
“She was like, ‘Yeah, I just want you to know, I’m rooting for Texas.’ And I was like, damn, so blood doesn’t matter these days anymore?” Ehis Etute said.
Schaefer and Graves have a history of tough clashes
Schaefer doesn’t forget losses, much less get over them. He certainly remembers a painful one to Oregon and Graves back in 2019. That’s when the Ducks beat Schaefer’s Mississippi State team in Portland to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history.
“That’s the best team I’ve had,” Schaefer said. “We were unlucky. We had to go out there and play in front of 13,000 Ducks and play his best team ever.”
Graves has fonder memories.
“One of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Graves said. “We’ve had some good battles together.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness