Rori Harmon gets Texas women going early to beat Kentucky and send the Longhorns to another Elite Eight
FORT WORTH, Texas — Rori Harmon came back to Texas for another chance to win a national championship. The 5-foot-6 sparkplug point guard and the Longhorns are one win away from getting back to the women’s Final Four for the second year in a row. Harmon got the Longhorns off to a fast start with an all-around effort, and played through a jammed right middle finger to finish with 11 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and six steals in a 76-54 Sweet 16 win over Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky on Saturday.
“Yeah, the urgency that I play with is that when you lose right now you’re done, so that’s constantly in my mind,” said Harmon, in her fifth and final year in the program. “There has to be a certain urgency and intensity that we play with to not let any team try to work their way back or anything. I think that’s how we came out today.
” Jordan Lee scored 18 points while All-America forward Madison Booker had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns (34-3). They have an 11-game winning streak and are in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row. Texas, which last year went to the Final Four for the first time since 2003 and won its only national title in 1986, will play second-seeded Michigan in the Fort Worth Regional 3 final on Monday night.
The Wolverines beat Louisville 71-52 earlier Saturday, setting up the only regional final this year matching the top two seeds. After Amelia Hassett hit a 3-pointer on the first shot of the game for the Wildcats (25-11), their only lead didn’t last long. Texas responded with 15-0 run, in the middle of which Harmon had three defensive rebounds and four assists in a span of 90 seconds.
“I thought Rori was really special on the ball,” sixth-year Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said. “I just love how we opened the game. I love how we came out ready to go.