With under eight seconds left in the first half of Texas’ matchup against James Madison on Wednesday night at the Moody Center, the crowd expected sophomore guard Jordan Lee to run out the clock or heave a half-court shot. The Longhorns were already up 23 points.
They assumed incorrectly.
After securing a defensive rebound, graduate point guard Rori Harmon quickly found Lee in transition. Just before the clock hit zero, Lee stepped back behind the line.
And swish — a buzzer-beater.
The three-pointer sent both teams into the locker room and effectively sealed the game, as the Longhorns stayed relentless in the second half and rolled to a 95-56 win over the Dukes.
While Texas is known for its dominant interior play so far this season, the backcourt carried the night. Lee, who hit another key 3-pointer later in the game, finished with 16 points as part of the standout trio alongside Harmon and junior forward Madison Booker.
“People are going to pick their poison with those three,” head coach Vic Schaefer said. “Booker’s always going to get everybody’s attention, and then they’re going to try to figure out how to deal with Rori. But Jordan has really improved … and it just helps to have that other option over there that can play. … These kids had to play a lot of minutes, but they didn’t alter how they played.”
The three combined scored 45 points, while Harmon delivered one of the most complete performances of the night. The floor general’s contributions don’t always show up in the stats, but Wednesday was an exception: 12 assists, 11 points and five steals, consistently keeping the balance of directing the offense while picking her moments to attack.
“It’s just having great teammates,” Harmon said. “Honestly, you can’t really get assists like that unless your teammates are hitting shots. A lot of it really comes in transition or just like running the offense. Execution comes with everyone that plays a part in it, whoever sets the screen, the guards who rub off the screen. So all you have to do is just make a good pass, and I’m just in a really good position to have such great teammates to make those shots.”
James Madison was far from a team to write off. The Dukes have veteran players with postseason experience and went 12-2 in true road games last season. Redshirt senior guard Peyton McDaniel, the 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year, is averaging 19.6 points this season.
But the Dukes couldn’t keep pace with Texas’ size, speed and intensity. The Longhorns’ defensive pressure set the tone early and never relented. Schaefer has long stressed that energy and effort are the non-negotiable foundation of Texas basketball, and it showed in all four quarters. According to Schaefer, defensive statistics don’t always tell the full story, but Wednesday’s did.
The numbers don’t lie.
Texas forced 29 turnovers, converted them into 31 points and collected 21 steals, disrupting James Madison’s offense for the entire 40 minutes.
With the win, Texas improves to 5–0 heading into its first road trip and first major test. The matchup against James Madison was the team’s final tune-up before traveling to Las Vegas for the Players Era Championship. Texas will face UCLA on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and then play either South Carolina or Duke the following day.
