It was deja vu for senior guard Rori Harmon as she stepped up to the free throw line in the last few seconds of the fourth quarter. With two buckets, she would secure the win, exactly like she did against Tennessee three days ago.
She missed the first and sank the second with less than 2 seconds remaining. Ole Miss inbounded the ball, hoping for a last-second three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Instead, as time expired, the ball flew straight from Rebel graduate forward Madison Scott’s hands to sophomore forward Madison Booker.
Booker, the SEC Player of the Week, had a slower game than usual, scoring only 12 points and hitting five out of 15 field goals. Booker normally averages around 16 points per game but couldn’t find her normal flow in her home state of Mississippi. She also found herself in foul trouble but was able to nail a jumper with 26 seconds left to give Texas a chance to win.
It was the Longhorns’ third game in six days, and the squad initially looked a little low on gas. Senior forward Aaliyah Moore didn’t play because of knee pain and was replaced by junior guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda in the regular starting lineup.
Texas and Ole Miss traded tight leads throughout the game and the Longhorns seemed to struggle to build offensive rhythm until the very end of the game, where they went on a 13–2 run to clinch a tight win over the unranked Rebels.
A lot can be credited to senior forward Taylor Jones. Jones put up an impressive 24 points and took advantage of the free throws she earned, sinking 10 of 11. Despite the four fouls, she kept going up for rebounds and took tough, contested shots against a strong Rebel defense.
The Ole Miss duo that almost served the Longhorns their third loss this season consisted of Scott and freshman guard Sira Thienou, who scored 17 and 14 points, respectively. The Rebels were hungry for their first win against Texas since 1988 but could not eke one out over the No. 7 Longhorns.
The Longhorns will return to the Moody Center to take on Missouri on Thursday night, as they look to stay undefeated at home.
