South Carolina women's basketball: Rori Harmon's game-winner downs the Gamecocks

Rori Harmon hit a baseline jumper with 0.7 seconds left to break a tie and give Texas a 66-64 win in the Players Era Women’s Championship.

Texas led 64-62 with less than 30 seconds to play, but Ta’Niya Latson forced a turnover. Dawn Staley called a timeout with 19.6 seconds left. Instead of playing for the final shot, Latson immediately drove to the rim. She drew a foul and hit both free throws to tie the game with 15 seconds left.

“That was the play,” Staley said. “That’s what she’s great at.”

Texas did not call a timeout after Latson’s free throws, letting Harmon set up the final shot. Harmon dribbled out most of the clock before starting her drive. She got to her sweet spot on the baseline and hit the fadeaway shot over Tessa Johnson.

“(Vic Schaefer) called the play at the end of the game, and I’ve been in this moment before, so it felt good coming out of my hands,” Harmon said.

South Carolina called a timeout to advance the ball to the front court, but Texas deflected the inbounds pass out of bounds. With just 0.1 seconds left, there wasn’t time for a final shot.

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South Carolina led 50-46 heading into the fourth quarter, but wasn’t able to hold onto the lead. The Gamecocks controlled the glass for most of the game, but in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns dominated 13-2, with eight of them coming on the offensive end. 

That allowed Texas to attempt 17 shots in the fourth quarter, compared to just eight for South Carolina, and get six second-chance points.

“We knew that the game was going to be won on rebounding,” Latson said. “We’ve got to box out. That’s something we’ve got to get better at, especially in games like this.”

Missed layups put South Carolina in a first half hole. Texas struggled to keep South Carolina out of the paint, but the Gamecocks shot a miserable 5-18 on layups. Texas took advantage of the misses to lead by as much as eight before settling for a four-point halftime lead.

Persistence, and the law of averages, won out. The Gamecocks continued to attack the rim in the second half, and the layups started to fall.

South Carolina made its first nine layups of the third quarter, sparking an 11-0 run that turned the deficit into a 50-42 lead.

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Vic Schaefer called a timeout to settle the Longhorns. His message worked, and they answered with an 8-0 run that tied the game early in the fourth quarter.

Both teams were playing their second game in two days, and the fatigue was evident at times throughout the game. Crucially, when Raven Johnson needed some rest in the fourth quarter, it opened the door for Madison Booker to get hot.

“In that blow, she got hot,” Staley said. “Once a player like that gets hot, the bucket gets pretty big.”

Booker scored eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-4 after starting the game 3-12. Harmon finished with 19 points to lead all scorers. Jordan Lee led all scorers with 19 points.

Latson and Joyce Edwards each scored 16 points to lead South Carolina. Tessa Johnson added 13 points, and Madina Okot had her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.

Notes:

Despite all the missed layups, South Carolina outscored Texas 38-28 in the paint. … Texas was able to limit South Carolina’s transition game, giving up just seven fast break points. … Adhel Tac had two points, four rebounds, and two blocks in eight minutes. She was the only bench player who scored. … Maddy McDaniel had two assists. … Ayla McDowell played five minutes in the second half while Edwards was on the bench after picking up her third foul. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a black zip-up jacket and black pants with Louis Vuitton sneakers. … South Carolina’s next game is on Thursday at Louisville.

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