Perhaps appropriately, Rori Harmon’s march to setting one of the top offensive records for the Texas women’s basketball program started on defense.
Less than a minute into the second quarter of her collegiate debut Nov. 9, 2021 against New Orleans, Harmon was credited with a defensive steal. Thirteen seconds later, Aliyah Matharu knocked down a 3-pointer after getting fed the basketball by Harmon. That would be the first assist in a Texas uniform for Harmon, a 5-foot-6 point guard out of Houston.
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Over four years later — or 1,479 days for those who want to be exact — Harmon would register her 777th assist. In the fourth quarter of a Thanksgiving game against No. 2 South Carolina that was being played in Las Vegas, Harmon in-bounded the basketball to teammate Jordan Lee, who knocked down a jumper to give Texas a 62-56 lead in a game they’d eventually win by a 66-64 score.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) during the NCAA semi-final game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Friday April 4, 2025.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
No. 777 left Harmon alone in the Texas record book. Earlier in the South Carolina game, she had tied Kamie Ethridge as UT’s all-time leader in assists. The first woman to have her jersey retired by the Texas athletic department and a member of UT’s first and only national championship team, Ethridge had distributed 776 helpers over 132 games from 1982-86.
More: No. 2 Longhorns trailing just UConn in AP, coaches polls
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Harmon and Ethridge have never met, but Harmon said she had recently been schooled by former UT coach Jody Conradt about the legendary Longhorn whose record she was about to break. Ethridge, now the head coach at Washington State, congratulated Harmon last week in a video message and added that “I want two things for you. I want you to rewrite this record book and make (the assists record) so far out there, and the second thing I want is you to go win a national championship.”
Harmon exited the South Carolina game with 777 assists, and she added four more assists against Penn this past Sunday. Harmon and Ethridge are the only players in school history to record more than 605 assists in their career.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) is honored ahead of the game against the Florida Gators, March 2, 2025.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
Texas teammates speak on what makes Rori Harmon great
Texas coach Vic Schaefer started recruiting Harmon while he was coaching at Mississippi State, and he has often joked that “I spent a lot of money on the school plane at Mississippi State, flying to Houston to recruit her.” Schaefer will be the first to say that other point guards in the 2021 recruiting class have had great collegiate careers — TCU’s Olivia Miles and South Carolina’s Raven Johnson to name a few — but Harmon was always the point guard he wanted.
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Harmon committed to Texas not long after Schaefer was hired, and she has been a starter since she got to campus. Harmon had a breakout performance as a freshman at the 2022 Big 12 tournament, and she ranked fifth nationally in assists as a sophomore. Sidelined for much of the 2023-24 season with a knee injury, Harmon returned last season to lead Texas to its first Final Four appearance in 22 years while also compiling the third-most assists among Division I basketball players and the seventh-best assists-to-turnover ratio.
So, what makes Rori Harmon a great point guard? The American-Statesman asked that exact question to 11 former and current Texas players who have scored off a Harmon assist.
Shay Holle (Texas guard, 2020-25)
“That’s a loaded question. I feel like she has a lot of attributes that make her into a really good and special point guard. I feel like I said this a lot during my college career, it’s really just her passion for the game. I always respect someone that just has so much emotion and passion that they pour into their sport. I think as a point guard and someone that everyone’s looking to on the court, it’s so much fun and it’s really energizing to look at someone that has so much energy and passion and fieriness, and I think that’s what really makes her a really good point guard, other than her skill set and court vision and all those things.”
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Taylor Jones (Texas forward, 2022-25)
“I think she always wants to make the play, no matter what that is. If it’s her scoring or if it’s her making the extra pass or if it’s her taking the charge, I think she’s very, very selfless and just a super gritty player. She’s also very smart, and as a point guard, you really need that.”
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) signals to her team while she brings the ball down in the third quarter as the Longhorns take on the Richmond Spiders at the Moody Center in Austin, Nov. 7, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Madison Booker (Texas forward, 2023-present)
“Her IQ is off the charts. She’s another coach Schaefer that’s on the court that’s playing point guard. I think it starts with her defense, her defense gets her going and the team going, We’re back there, we’re playing hard, Rori gets the steal, she gets the ball, she’s passing up the court, so a lot of those assists come off our defensive presence on the court and fast-break points. But no, she’s a great point guard, great person off the court. (The record) just shows the fact of her hard work and dedication to this program.”
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Shaylee Gonzales (Texas guard, 2022-24)
“I think Rori is a great point guard because she has so much love for the game. She’s very passionate about what she does and I think her having the energy she does, she brings energy to other people and it’s just contagious. Her being a point guard and starting off offense and defense, it makes you as other players want to jump on that bandwagon and play hard.”
Joanne Allen-Taylor (Texas guard, 2018-22)
“Rori is a great point guard because she desires winning above all — the best point guards usually do. Her natural speed mixed with decision making allows her (and typically the ball) to be in the right place at the right time, making it easier for others who are out there with her.”
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Jordan Lee (Texas guard, 2024-present)
“Her work ethic is definitely one that I absolutely look up to. To see her in the gym every day when I was a freshman, I hope I do the same thing for both Aaliyah (Crump) and Grace (Prenter) now, where they can look at that sort of example and be like, ‘This is what I need to come in and do, and this is how I need to come in and contribute.’ As a point guard in particular, she does exactly what you want: high assists, low turnovers.”
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (Texas guard, 2022-25)
“Rori is a great point guard because of her high IQ. She knows how to get it to her teammates and knows how to score herself. I loved playing defense with her because it seemed like she was everywhere.”
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Texas point guard Rori Harmon, left, celebrates after UT guard Kyndall Hunter, right, hit a 3-pointer while being fouled during the Longhorn’s season-opening win over New Orleans. Harmon and Hunter were teammates at Houston Cypress Creek High School as well.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
Kyndall Hunter (Texas guard, 2021-23)
“I think the thing that really sets Rori apart as a point guard is just her selflessness. I don’t think that it matters to her how many points she has or even how she performs but she just wants to do whatever she can to make the team win. Since I’ve known her, since we’ve played together (at Texas and Cypress Creek High), that’s always been her mentality, team-first, putting herself on the line and just her hard-nosed grittiness.”
Teya Sidberry (Texas forward, 2025-present)
“She’s incredible. She just puts in so much work that nobody sees. I think that shows in what she’s earned, and she’s always putting in work and being a great leader.”
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Bryanna Preston (Texas guard, 2024-present)
“First, she plays hard on both ends of the floor, and that’s what you need from your floor general. Me also as a point guard, being able to learn from her, it’s been a good journey for me. She just has an edge to her. I’m pretty sure coach says that a lot but it, but it’s true. Like she steps on the floor, she has presence, and that’s what a good point guard needs, and she has that.”
Jordana Codio (Texas guard, 2022-25)
“Rori is an excellent point guard and a great leader. I really enjoyed being her teammate, and becoming the Longhorns’ all-time assist leader is an incredible achievement.  Her placement as one of Texas’ greats is well-deserved.”
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Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) instructs her teammates in a drill during practice in the Moody Center, Oct. 2, 2024. The Longhorns start their season with an exhibition match against UT-Tyler on Oct. 31.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
A breakdown of Rori Harmon’s 781 career assists
Harmon’s 781 assists have set up 582 2-point baskets and 199 3-pointers. When you factor in the 1,367 points she has scored during her career, that’s about 32% of the offense produced by Texas in the 126 games that Harmon has played in and 26% of the offense produced by Texas in its 157 games since Harmon arrived on campus.
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Harmon’s assists also set up scores for 28 different Texas teammates. From Holle (102 baskets off Harmon assists) to Codio and Kobe King-Hawea (one apiece), here is the breakdown of Harmon’s distribution list:
Shay Holle (102)
Taylor Jones (87)
Madison Booker (83)
DeYona Gaston (74)
Shaylee Gonzales (69)
Aliyah Matharu (42)
Joanne Allen-Taylor (39)
Jordan Lee (34)
Aaliyah Moore (34)
Sonya Morris (33)
Audrey Warren (30)
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (25)
Khadija Faye (24)
Kyla Oldacre (19)
Justice Carlton (19)
Amina Muhammad (17)
Lauren Ebo (15)
Kyndall Hunter (5)
Aaliyah Crump (5)
Breya Cunningham (5)
Teya Sidberry (4)
Latasha Lattimore (3)
Femme Masudi (3)
Laila Phelia (3)
Bryanna Preston (3)
Gisella Maul (2)
Jordana Codio (1)
Kobe King-Hawea (1)