When Texas women’s basketball last faced LSU, it was an ugly showing by Texas — turnovers galore from an undisciplined team. The LSU defense was simply suffocating, and the Longhorns walked out of Baton Rouge with their first loss of the season.
Thursday night, fans in burnt orange and purple and gold trickled into the Moody Center. LSU fans travel extremely well, and a couple of Tigers fans were even dressed as head coach Kim Mulkey, sparkly jacket, blonde bob and all. The tension was palpable, even more so than the other ranked games or the matchups against the Longhorns’ longtime rivals.
This time, it felt different. Fans knew that it was going to come down to the wire, no matter if someone made a run or whoever took the lead. Both of these teams mirror each other – too physical and too talented for it not be a nail-biter.
That’s what fans thought — at least for the first half. Whatever head coach Vic Schaefer told his team in the locker room at halftime worked because, for the last 15 minutes, Texas played lights out. The Longhorns defense suffocated the Tigers, forcing 19 turnovers. Offensively, Texas was hot and versatile.
It was confident, complimentary basketball to the core, raising the Longhorns to a redemption win over LSU, 77-64, achieving 39 consecutive wins at home.
“What a battle — I mean an absolute war. What an incredible effort by our team tonight,” Schaefer said. “They were so tough tonight. (I) think they really took it upon themselves to be different from the last time we played (LSU) … That atmosphere (was) unbelievable. I mean (it was) just really special, and our kids deserve it. They worked so hard, but they played the way they know I want them to play.”
There were so many things at stake. The result of the game could very well determine Southeastern Conference seedings. Texas was keen on keeping its home victory record alive, while LSU was desperate to beat a top-five opponent again.
The stakes were especially high for graduate point guard Rori Harmon. She was not herself in last month’s game, so much that Schaefer benched her for the entire fourth quarter.
But tonight, fans saw a different Harmon, a record-breaking Harmon. After intercepting a pass away from an LSU player, somehow landing on the floor with the ball in her hands, she smiled with her tongue out toward the on-court camera, knowing that she had broken the record for all-time steals in Texas program history — the second record she’s broken this season.
Harmon has been the long-time floor general for the Longhorns, but she is much more than that. She is a leader and the “grandma” of the group. She plays with no fear, diving for balls and sprinting across the floor to get steals. No matter the status of the game, Schaefer can always rely on her to be at 100% all forty minutes, to play with the toughness he demands.
“It’s such a big deal to me to get this recognition,” Harmon said. “I’m just really honored to be in this position. I’m super happy, but it doesn’t stop here. I’m going to stretch it as much as I can and continue to bring my defensive effort and run the team, whatever it takes for us to win and get to that last game.”
However, a team can’t just rely on one person. And on Thursday, everyone did their part. Whether it was freshman guard Aaliyah Crump coming off the bench scoring 16 points, junior forward Madison Booker with her elite mid-range, sophomore guard Bryanna Preston coming in to relieve Harmon or senior forward Teya Sidberry playing her first minutes in a while and not missing a shot.
With less than one minute left and Texas up 14 points, victory prematurely secured, LSU fans started to head out, Texas fans stood on their feet. A bit shocked, but also in awe at what their team just did.
