Texas Longhorns Star Ends Hailey Van Lith’s Career in Shut-Down Fashion
Rori Harmon wants to be known for her defense. The senior point guard for the No. 1 Texas Longhorns prides herself on her ability to lock down some of the best point guards in the sport night in and night out. And in Texas’ Elite Eight win over TCU , she locked down Hailey Van Lith, one of the nation’s most electric scorers.
Two years after Van Lith ended Harmon and Texas’s season in the second round, Harmon got her revenge. In the Elite Eight, Harmon locked down Van Lith, limiting her to just 3-15 from the field and forcing her into seven turnovers. Before the Elite Eight matchup, Harmon shared her excitement to guard a player like Van Lith, and while she talked a big game, she backed it up with her play.
“I don’t really have to prove much, I’ve been doing this for a while, ever since I was a freshman, or even before college, I’ve been playing defense the way I do, I’m just more fundamentally sound at it now,” Harmon said. “I’m excited for that matchup, I’m excited for the competition, I’m always gonna take on whoever their best player is, I love that, I take that with responsibility. Like what my teammates and my coaches say, how I come out and attack and punch on defense, that’s basically how the team is going to play.”
Harmon set the tone early on defense for the Longhorns and Texas would go on to force 21 turnovers and allow just 12 made field goals.
While Harmon is not one of the four finalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, she’s going to keep locking down the teams she comes across.
“I would say team defense always is the number one thing, trying to limit her touches as much as possible,” Harmon said after beating TCU. “She’s a three level scorer and a great basketball player, and she played very, really well for them, but yeah, just kind of standing firm, I think, with a good basketball player and ball hander like she is, like me personally, I can’t, like gamble and on dribbles and heads these like I have, to just stay disciplined stay in front, cut her off and stuff like that. Just get her to like go the ball because a lot of her off a lot of their offense runs through her, and she makes great play so just kind of getting the ball out of her hands is definitely is one of the keys.”
Harmon and the Longhorns will take the court next for their fourth game against South Carolina, this time in the Final Four.
