For Rori Harmon, playing for the Texas Longhorns wasn’t a professional courtesy but a personal responsibility. Hailing from Houston, Texas, Harmon always craved the burnt orange and white jersey with pride, but the Rori! Rori! chants that transcended their home arena for these years finally called it a day on Sunday. The Moody Center got a final glimpse of Harmon in the Oregon Ducks’ March Madness game, with the moment also being welcomed by one of her key mentors.

Harmon’s ACL surgeon, Douglas Elenz, who was a guiding force behind her ACL tear recovery in the 2023-24 season, graced the Moody Center on Sunday. The Texas senior had a brief moment with Elenz in the locker room. The moment carried immense weight, and Harmon couldn’t help but shed a few tears as they shared a heartwarming, emotional moment amid her special day.

Sports anchor Cory Mose shared a glimpse of this reunion on X. “Rori Harmon shares a moment with her surgeon Douglas Elenz. These two have been through so much together, cool to see them be together in Rori’s last game in Austin,” the caption of the post read.

Rori Harmon shares a moment with her surgeon Douglas Elenz

Harmon’s non-contact ACL tear came during a practice session in December 2023. This limited her season to just 12 games. And for the rest of the season, she had to deal with the injury’s repercussions, including ACL reconstruction surgery and a prolonged recovery. This is where Elenz came in, supporting Harmon throughout this tough 10-month journey away from the court.

And thus, it was only fitting that in a game where Texas bid goodbye to their own, such an inspiring figure of her career was present alongside her. The Moody Center arena also chipped in with Harmon in making her final appearance special at the arena. She shed light on the moment herself in the post-game press conference.

“To stand out there, with all those fans, I tried not to be emotional, which I think I did good,” she said. “We started with 2000, not even with 2000 fans at the Irwin center. Now we’re like 10,000-11,000 fans at the Moody Center. So, to see the growth of women’s basketball in general was just a great moment for us seniors.”

While the emotional quotient took precedence in the game, Rori Harmon and the Longhorns also backed it up with a solid performance on the court. The Longhorns guard logged 28 minutes in the game, recording 9 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals to showcase her all-around prowess. The night of course belonged to Madison Booker, who led the Longhorns with 40 points, with 14-21 from the field as Harmon and Jordan Lee played second fiddle (17 points) for a 42-point win.

Overall, it was an impressive game with Vic Schaefer scoring 56% in shooting from the field and 67% from beyond the arc, while also dominating on the boards. Yet despite that, Harmon feels that there’s still a lot left for her and the team this season.

Rori Harmon Ain’t Done With Her Texas Journey Yet

With her final collegiate game at Moody Center, Rori Harmon’s stint with the Texas Longhorns is in its final stretch as well. The WNBA call is just around the corner in a couple of months, and at this moment in March Madness, every upcoming game can be a final goodbye for Harmon, and every win is a chance to extend her collegiate career. Yet despite that, the Longhorns’ star isn’t focused on those lines much as she feels that she and her team still have a job on their hands.

“I can say it’s over, but really it’s not,” Harmon said in her press conference. “Job’s not finished, and we’ll continue to try and get moe wins.”

With the win over Oregon, Harmon and the Longhorns advance to the Round of 16. Their opponent in the game will be the winner between No. 5 Kentucky and No. 4 West Virginia. Given Texas’ consistent form this season, they are, of course, expected to win this game, but their most significant challenge in this tournament will be the Elite Eight, where they can face Michigan, Louisville, or Alabama.

The Wolverines under Kim Barnes Arico have been in some form this season. They have dominated Big 10 play alongside UCLA this season. A No.2 seed in the March Madness this season, the Wolverines have already bagged two blowouts in their initial games of the tournament. Thus, like Texas, the Wolverines will walk into the Round of 16 as favorites, potentially setting up a showdown between these two titans in the Fort Worth 3 bracket.

On the other hand, Harmon and co share a bit of their own history with Louisville. It was the Cardinals who halted Texas’ March Madness run in Harmon’s junior year at the Longhorns. Thus, a possible matchup with the same stakes in line can work as a revenge spree for the Longhorns.

With such anticipated matchups on the cards, Harmon’s goal to advance deeper into the tournament will be anything but easy. But given Madison Booker and Rori Harmon’s partnership, which is now 79-7 in the games they’ve played together, Texas won’t go into this run as the underdog either.

What are your expectations from the Longhorns in these possible games? Do let us know in the comments.