No. 5 Texas women’s basketball fell 85-79 to No. 10 Baylor in its final Big 12 Conference opener. Both teams came into the game undefeated.
Ahead of the matchup, junior guard Rori Harmon announced she had torn her anterior cruciate ligament and would be out for the season. Heartbroken about the injury, Harmon said she will continue to support the team and be the best teammate she can be.
“We have big goals for this season and those are not going to change,” Harmon said. “We are going to come into the gym every day and work hard to achieve those goals. We have the best fans and will play hard for them and for each other.”
Without Harmon and its leading scorer, senior forward Taylor Jones, Texas got off to a slow start. At the end of the first quarter, Baylor gained a 13-point lead, but a three-pointer from graduate guard Shaylee Gonzales in the last thirty seconds of the quarter started a 9-0 Texas run.
The second quarter was all Texas. Toward the end of the quarter, the Longhorns narrowed the Bears lead down to one point at 28-27. The strong momentum that kept the Bears pointless for three minutes wasn’t enough to get the lead as Baylor junior guard Yaya Felder scored six to put her team further ahead 37-31.
Breaking through a solid Baylor defense, Texas managed to keep up a scoring pace and balanced game in the third and fourth quarter.
The once 13-point lead narrowed down to six points, bringing Texas players and fans the hope of a last minute turnaround, but Texas ultimately wasn’t able to recover from its early game struggles and lost the home game.
Freshman forward Madison Booker, now stepping into Harmon’s point guard role, led the game in points with 25, her career high.
A team that depended on its point guard had to figure out new dynamics for the rest of the season against a tough opponent. Despite the loss, Texas showed improvement throughout the game, playing hard until the final second.
The Longhorns will start 2024 in Lubbock facing Texas Tech on Jan. 3. Texas and Baylor will meet again on Feb. 1 in Waco.
