LAS VEGAS – There is no team in the country more ill-suited for the Players Era Championship than Texas.
The Longhorns are old-school. They operate most of their offense in the midrange, when the rest of basketball has moved toward layups and threes. They are led by a traditional point guard in 5-foot-6 senior Rori Harmon, who would rather facilitate and be a pest on defense than score in isolation. They play defense first, offense second. And their coach, Vic Schaefer, patrols the sidelines in a button-up shirt and a tie.
The Players Era Championship, meanwhile, is new school. It’s a tournament built on the modern practice of awarding NIL money to the participants, played in an artificial town fueled by LED lights and the high-pitched hum of slot machines.
Yet the No. 4 Longhorns strutted into Michelob Ultra Arena on Wednesday and put on a show. Old school, new school, it didn’t matter: They schooled the No. 3 UCLA Bruins 76-65.
“They are a really simple team, but they are incredibly disciplined and tough,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “And their style beat our style.”
It’s an identity that starts with Schaefer, 64, who was born in Austin. His sideline look is not by accident. Every game, Schaefer starts out with slacks, a suit jacket, a button-up shirt and a tie. The jacket rarely lasts more than a quarter – usually taken off in either a fit of rage or because he’s overheating – but the rest of the look stays intact. It reflects the overarching theme of this team: Things are to be done a certain way.
“He sets the standard,” Harmon said. “We get away from stuff like that as time goes on, but he’s very traditional. He respects the game so much, so he’s going to make sure him and his staff are dolled up.”
On the court against UCLA, things started, as usual, with Harmon. She has been Schaefer’s partner in building the Texas program. He first recruited her when he was coach at Mississippi State. Then, even though Harmon, a Houston native, says she had no previous interest in Texas, he was able to convince her to be a Longhorn. They arrived on campus together in 2020. Since then, Texas has won the Big 12 tournament twice and the SEC regular season once. Last season, the Longhorns advanced to their first Final Four.
“Everything that he said to me during recruiting came true,” Harmon said. “He said he was going to build a great team around me, and it’s come together perfectly. We’ve built it together, and obviously he started it, with him coming over and being such a great coach, but we’ve made a really great relationship.”
So it was no surprise Wednesday when Texas’ first basket came from its trusty point guard. And when UCLA rallied and was in the midst of a 24-3 run from the end of the third quarter to the midway point of the fourth, it wasn’t a surprise that Harmon had the answer. After 5-foot-11 UCLA senior Kiki Rice cut Texas’ lead to 64-60 on a fastbreak layup, Harmon responded on the other end with a tough jumper. She had 10 of Texas’ 14 fourth quarter points.
Harmon is a pass-first point guard, yes, but she’s a win-first point guard more than anything. And against UCLA, she needed to score. Harmon finished with 26 points and 5 assists.
“She showed why she is the best point guard in the country,” Schaefer said. “She wanted the ball. I’m looking out there like, ‘OK, who wants it? We’ve got to get a bucket, we’ve got to make a good decision.’ That was Rori. She was really special.”
And when it wasn’t Harmon, it was Madison Booker, a 6-foot-1 junior known for her smooth midrange jumper and stoic nature. She scored 13 of her 16 points in the first half, helping Texas build a 45-25 advantage.
That’s two great offensive performances from Texas’ two stars – and another from 6-foot sophomore Jordan Lee, who finished with 13 points and 4 assists – but when you talk about Texas, you talk about defense. Everything else is secondary.
Texas is pesky, to the point of agitation. No matter where an opposing offensive player catches the ball, a Longhorn will be in her face with active hands and quick feet. Texas forced 20 turnovers.
Texas’ main point of emphasis was limiting UCLA’s 6-foot-7 All-American center, Lauren Betts, whom Schaefer referred to as a “big aircraft carrier inside.” That post defense starts with the guards because the best way to stop a force like Betts is to keep the ball out of her hands.
“It’s hard to feed the post when you are running the offense 30 feet from the rim,” Schaefer said. “And I thought our guards did a great job. They played their guts out.”
Six different Longhorns had a steal, with Lee snagging three to lead the charge. She also had a team-high four blocks.
The trio of Harmon, Booker and Lee was steady throughout, with Harmon playing all 40 minutes and Booker and Lee playing 39 each. Three Texas guards – 6-foot-1 freshman Aaliyah Crump, 5-foot-9 sophomore Bryanna Preston and 6-foot-1 Ashton Judd, a senior transfer from Missouri – missed the game with injuries. That made breaks for the three starting guards impossible.
“It’s hard to go out there and play like we play,” Schaefer said. “It ain’t like we’re standing around in a two-three zone playing ‘hope you miss’ defense. These kids, I’m trying to get them out of here and into a cold tub up to their ears so they can get ready to play (Thursday).”
Thursday’s game – a rematch of last season’s national semifinal with fellow SEC giant South Carolina – will be just as challenging. When they met in April, the Gamecocks won 74-57, advancing to the title game against UConn. There are several new players on each roster, but the approach will be the same.
The Longhorns will play their defense and shoot their middies, and Schaefer will wear his jacket and tie. For Texas, old-school is the only way to go.
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