No. 5 Texas, missing Rori Harmon, falls to No. 10 Baylor in Big 12 women's opener

Rori Harmon aspires to coach basketball. Just not this soon.

But that’s the role the Longhorns' star point guard was handed this week.

Harmon, her season terminated on Wednesday night by a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, was relegated to extra assistant on the bench Saturday afternoon as the No. 5 Longhorns lost to No. 10 Baylor 85-79 in their Big 12 opener. And Taylor Jones, the 6-foot-4 forward who leads Texas (13-1) in scoring and rebounding, missed her third straight game with a hip injury as the Longhorns lost for the first time this season.

Texas head coach Vic Schaefer was visibly upset for Harmon and Jones.

“I love these kids like my own daughter,” Schaefer said. “It crushes me.”

Baylor (12-0) has won 14 consecutive games in Austin, this one in front of 8,207 at Moody Center and a national television audience.

“The crowd, the energy, the opportunity, we’re excited about the opportunity to play in this kind of game,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen said.

Madison Booker, a freshman forward who replaced Harmon at point guard, valiantly produced a season-best 25 points, adding seven rebounds and eight assists. Sophomore Amina Muhammad scored a career-high 17 points. Shay Holle scored 13, and Shaylee Gonzales had 12 points and six steals. Gonzales and Holle played the full 40 minutes.

Gonzales made a layup to leave Texas trailing by four with 1:50 left. Muhammad made two free throws with 47 seconds remaining, and Texas trailed by four again.

But Sarah Andrews matched those free throws with 20 seconds left, the lead going back to six.

“Our kids played really hard today,” Schaefer said. “I’m so proud of them.”

Jada Walker led Baylor with 19 points —15 in the second half. Dre’Una Edwards scored 14 of her 18 in the second half, including a layup with a minute left. Andrews added 16.  Edwards' layup with a minute left gave Baylor an 81-75 lead. Texas shot the ball well, hitting 51.7% from the field, but committed 23 turnovers.

Baylor (12-0) shot exceptionally well, 56.7%, but made 22 turnovers. But the Bears also hit nine 3-point baskets, four by Andrews and three by Bella Fontleroy. The Longhorns missed with 12 of their 16 3-pointers, Booker going 1-for-8.

Texas announced Friday that Harmon, a junior, will miss the rest of the season. She suffered the injury during a shootaround practice before Wednesday's win over Jackson State.

“I’m super sad for Rori,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. “I’m a Rori fan, a big fan of her game. She plays both sides.”

Trying to help any way she can, Harmon drew up plays during Saturday's shootaround. She discovered a passion for coaching while missing five games last season with a foot injury.

Harmon was having an All-America caliber season, averaging 14.1 points, 7.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and three steals. She ranks second in the nation in assists and first in assists-to-turnover ratio with 6.64. She assertively claimed a place in the national women’s basketball spotlight with 27 points and 13 assists during a win against then-No. 11 UConn.

With Harmon out, Booker became the primary ball handler and distributor.

She had 16 points and nine assists against just one turnover while replacing Harmon during a win over Jackson State. But Baylor is not Jackson State. Booker, facing defensive pressure, committed a turnover on the Longhorns’ first possession. Her teammates followed with four more in the first three minutes of the game. They fell behind 14-2.

“We got punched early,” Schaefer said. “That’s my fault. I didn’t have them ready.”

Schaefer pulled Booker from the game with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. She sat for five minutes.

“When coach pulled me out, the first person to come up to me was Rori,” Booker said. “She sat me down, talked to me, told me to take a deep breath.”

Neither Booker nor her teammates quit after falling in that hole. Instead, the Longhorns rallied, making an 8-0 run and whittling a 13-point deficit down to one before trailing 37-31 at halftime.

“Our kids played really hard today,” Schaefer said. “I’m so proud of them.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas women's basketball loses to Baylor 85-79 in Big 12 opener