Aaliyah Moore's knee — and game — are finally right again for Texas women's basketball

Texas forward Aaliyah Moore will turn 21 on Tuesday.

No. 11 Texas (16-2, 3-2) has a basketball game scheduled against Kansas (9-7, 2-3) that night, so it only seems fair that the birthday girl gets to put in a dessert order since UT associate director of athletic communications Jeremy Rosenthal brings homemade baked goods to each home game. While leaving a media availability last week, she requested Oreo cake pops.

To celebrate her birthday, the junior also went home over the holiday break and participated in a photo shoot that produced some "pretty cute pictures." Moore chose to have bright blond hair in the photos, and she's kept that look since returning to campus.

So the blond hair is new. But for the first time in a while, Moore's play on the court has started to look familiar.

Moore is coming off a solid showing in Saturday's 61-58 loss at Kansas State. Over 27 minutes, she scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and added three steals. She shot 5-for-10 from the field and made all five of her free throws.

"I was pleased with her, but at the same time she knows there's areas she's got to be better, as (does) the rest of our team," UT coach Vic Schaefer said. "We've got to be better in a lot of areas."

Against the Wildcats, Moore made her first start since she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Dec. 11, 2022. She missed the final 27 games of last season and the first five of UT's current campaign. After her return in November, Moore had come off the bench in her first 12 appearances.

That effort in Manhattan — as well as an 18-point, 12-rebound performance at Texas Tech on Jan. 3 — was a reminder of the potential that she flashed early on at Texas. The nation's No. 6 overall recruit in 2021, Moore shined as a freshman during UT's run to the Big 12 Tournament title and an Elite Eight appearance. She was averaging 11.2 points to open her sophomore season, including nine starts.

Then came the injury that she sustained while driving to the hoop during a nonconference game against Alabama State.

Thirteen months later, Moore is healthy. She isn't worried about her knee anymore, but she admitted that there are other aspects of her confidence that need to be restored.

"I would say for me the confidence part is shooting the ball," Moore said. "Coach wants me to take these certain shots, and I'll hesitate, second-guess myself because it has been a minute since I've been out there. But again, I have to realize what my team needs from me and realize that he also has confidence in me and he wants me to shoot the ball.

"So I need to realize that and just take that in, and I know I can make it, so it's just about getting the feel of playing with my team again ... and just realizing that I am a pretty good player. So I need to play like it."

Words of wisdom from her coach

Moore said she recently received a pep talk from Schaefer about restoring her confidence. Schaefer reminded her of the ankle injury that sidelined her for an eight-game stretch during her freshman year.

Upon her return that season, Moore found a way to make an impact. She held her own against Baylor star NaLyssa Smith in the Big 12 championship game. She then had a run in the NCAA Tournament in which she scored 18 points against Fairfield and 21 against Utah and then sealed UT's Sweet 16 win over Ohio State with two late blocks. "He was like whatever you did your freshman year, you've got to go back to that time, look deep inside of you and find that.

"I think it really helped, and honestly I told him it's me versus me. There's no one else out there that can beat me but myself," Moore said. "I had to have my mental right. I said going into 2024, I have my affirmations. I am her, and I'm going to have a great year."

'She brings a lot to this team'

Moore, at 6 feet 1, is an undersized post player. That doesn't matter to her. She said last week that thanks to her footwork and physicality, she won't let herself believe she can be pushed around by bigger players.

For the season, she's averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 60.6% from the field. She played 27 minutes in the Texas Tech and Kansas State games, but Schaefer said that Moore's playing time at West Virginia on Jan. 6 was limited because of foul trouble, and her night was cut short against TCU on Jan. 10 because of tendinitis in her right knee.

"She brings a lot to this team," freshman Madison Booker said. "I'm just so happy to have her back. She's definitely getting the rust off, and the old Aaliyah's coming back."

Moore has come a long way

At this point last season, Moore was beginning to rehab her knee injury. One year later, point guard Rori Harmon is doing the same thing, albeit with her right knee. Moore was the No. 6 recruit in 2021, and Harmon was No. 10.

So that makes Moore an on-court asset with her play as well as an off-court resource with her knowledge. Asked recently how she's supporting Harmon, Moore said that "I have been able to help her. But everyone's path is different."

"I told her if you need anything, please, please, just ask for help," she said. "That was something that I had to make sure that I honed in on. Like, if you need anything, it's not bad to ask for help. At the end of the day, everyone wants you to get through this injury and succeed and come out of this better than you were.

"I told her it's going to be hard. There's good days and there's a lot of bad days. But you'll look back, and everything that you did you'll be proud of, and you got through it. I always say that's probably the hardest thing in my life that I've ever had to go through mentally and physically."

Tuesday's game

Kansas (9-7, 2-3) at No. 11 Texas (16-2, 3-2), 7 p.m., LHN, 103.1

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas gets production from junior basketball player Aaliyah Moore