Texas guard Rori Harmon was absent Wednesday night from the Longhorns’ 97-52 win over Jackson State.
Head coach Vic Schaefer provided no comment on Harmon’s injury after the game, only telling reporters that it happened during the team shootaround earlier in the day. Harmon, who spent the game on the bench for the Longhorns, appeared to be wearing a brace on her right knee, and she also was walking with a limp.
The junior guard is set to undergo testing Thursday, after which the school will issue a news release on the severity of the injury.
“We’ll know more [Thursday],” Schaefer said. “I don’t really have anything for you right now.”
The coach added that he didn’t say much to the team about Harmon before the game.
“My heart hurts for the kids that are out,” Schaefer said. “These (other) kids deserve my best. I’m proud of my team. They really rose to the occasion.”
Harmon is one of the best two-way guards in the country, with UConn head coach Geno Auriemma even saying that she’s “the best player we’ve played against this year, by far,” after UConn’s 80-68 loss to Texas in early December.
She had 27 points, 13 assists in that game and helped her team hold UConn’s Paige Bueckers to 13 points.
This is not the first time Harmon has been sidelined with an injury. She missed the first five games of the 2022-23 season with a foot injury. But she has established herself as a skilled defender, and she is averaging a team-high 7.8 assists (second in the country) and 3.1 steals per game. She also is averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds, both good for second on the Texas roster.
“Ain’t nobody on our team play harder than Rori Harmon,” Schaefer told ESPN early in December. “She brings that to the table every day, every practice, every game, and that’s what impacts your team in such a positive way.”