No. 4 Texas Women’s Players defeated No. 2 South Carolina for the ERA title

LAS VEGAS — Jordan Lee scored 19 points and Rory Harmon hit a 10-foot floater with a second left to lead No. 4 Texas over No. 2 South Carolina 66-64 on Thursday in the women’s title game of the Players Era Championship.

Harmon was held in check by Game Cox, scoring just four points until she drove to the left side of the key and pulled in for the winning shot.

Harmon also had nine assists to tie for the program’s career leader. She was selected as the tournament MVP.

“When it came time for the last shot, it was always his,” said Texas coach Vic Shafer, who called Harmon the best point guard in the country after Wednesday’s semifinal win over No. 3 UCLA.

After blowing a six-point lead early in the third quarter and eventually falling behind by eight, the Longhorns (7-0) clawed their way back, outscoring South Carolina 24-14 the rest of the way.

Madison Booker finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Texas. Justice Carlton had 13 points and eight boards.

Harmon has 777 assists in 125 games for the Longhorns since 2021. He broke the previous school record held by Kammy Etheridge, who had 776 assists in 132 games from 1982-86.

Four players scored in double figures for South Carolina (7-1), led by Tanya Latson and Joyce Edwards with 16 points apiece. Tessa Johnson added 13, and Medina Okot posted her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

It was South Carolina’s first loss since losing to Connecticut in the NCAA Championship game in April.

After Pesky knocked off UCLA and Duke in the semifinals, Texas and South Carolina, respectively, gave fans an entertaining preview of what they can expect when Southeastern Conference play begins in January.

The teams split their regular-season meetings last season, before the Gamecocks dominated Texas in both the SEC Tournament final and Final Four.