No. 12 Texas women’s basketball could have secured a share of the Big 12 regular-season title and the top seed in the conference tournament with a win Monday over Baylor. Instead, the Longhorns (22-8) left their home court in disappointment after a 63-54 loss.
Sophomore point guard Rori Harmon and coach Vic Schaefer both called out their team for the lack of effort in the defeat.
“It was pretty painful,” Harmon said. “It doesn’t feel like I’m getting the same energy I’m putting out on the court from some of the team. I almost take that personal. I’m not perfect at all — like, at all. That’s fine because most of the time, I’m going to play hard and it’s going to cover it up.
“When there’s not enough effort and energy, I take that personal because now I feel like you don’t want it anymore. That’s how I felt. And that’s how I feel.”
While Harmon did not have her best game, shooting 5-for-18 from the field, she contributed 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Just three Texas players finished in double digits, including Harmon, guard Shaylee Gonzales (10) and center Taylor Jones (15).
“We kind of had the perfect stage,” Jones said. “We had a chance to win the championship tonight. And we came out dead.”
Texas gave up 17 turnovers in front of a season-high crowd of 10,763 fans at the Moody Center, which did not help a Longhorns roster depleted by injuries. Still, the team holds a half-game lead over Oklahoma and can clinch at least a piece of the Big 12 title with a win in their final game Saturday at Kansas State.
“We just kicked an opportunity to do something cool in front of our fans,” said Schaefer, who described his team as “lackadaisical” against the Bears. “Now are we going to do something about it?”