No. 19 Texas gets Rori Harmon back, cruises past Princeton

With its point guard in tow, Texas returned to Moody Center on Sunday and got a double-double from forward Taylor Jones in a 74-50 win over Princeton.

The 19th-ranked Longhorns, who had spent the last four games away from home playing at UConn and then in a tournament in the Bahamas, improved to 3-3 on the season. Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas.

"I'm happy for our team," UT coach Vic Schaefer said. "It's hard to win in college athletics, and I'm happy to win."

With Rori Harmon on the court for the first time this season, Texas jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Princeton never got closer than two points the rest of the game.

Texas committed 18 turnovers against Princeton, but its 52.1% shooting was the team's best of the season. Four Longhorns — Jones, Harmon (11 points), Sonya Morris (15) and Aaliyah Moore (10) — had double-digit point totals. Defensively, UT held Princeton (3-2) to 28.1% shooting, a season low, and forced 19 turnovers.

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"I think that we definitely played better than what we did the last few games," said Jones, who scored 10 points in the third quarter as Texas turned a nine-point lead into a 15-point advantage. "I think having Rori back definitely has a very big impact on that."

Harmon had two assists and two turnovers in the first outing of her sophomore season. The 5-foot-6 All-American candidate had missed the first five games with a toe injury.

After averaging 30 minutes during her freshman year, she played 23 minutes Sunday. During the third quarter, she shot 3-for-4 from the field and scored nine points.

"She got beat on a float once, she had two turnovers, and I think she got beat on the back door in the first half, and God, I loved having her out there for all of that," Schaefer joked. "It is so good to have her back."

Added Harmon: "Of course I'm a little sore, a little tight. But coming back to play in a women's college basketball game after 2½ weeks, it's not that easy. I'm going to keep preparing in practice, getting my body right, and I'll be ready for the next game."

Before the game, Texas formally retired the No. 15 jersey that was once worn by Annette Smith-Knight. The all-time leading scorer in the history of Longhorns men's and women's basketball, she totaled 2,523 points during a career that culminated in a national championship in 1986.

Smith-Knight joins Kamie Ethridge and Clarissa Davis as the only UT women's basketball players to have their numbers retired. Each member of that trio played on UT's only NCAA title team.

Smith-Knight was honored as she stood alongside her husband, children and former UT coach Jody Conradt. Video messages from teammates such as Andrea Lloyd and Fran Harris were played during the game. Texas players warmed up wearing T-shirts that honored Smith-Knight, and those same shirts were given away to fans.

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Earlier this weekend, Smith-Knight said she was "excited" to learn that her jersey would hang from the Moody Center rafters. Curtis Knight said between 60 and 70 friends and family members had planned to be in attendance to support his wife.

"I think that's very awesome that she was able to do that and retire her jersey," Harmon said. "As players who come from Texas, we all need to look up and see her jersey in the rafters and feel grateful and honor her."

Notes: Princeton was led by Kaitlyn Chen's 15 points. ... Texas will return to action Friday with a home game against South Florida. ... Texas announced a crowd of 5,137.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Rori Harmon returns as Texas beats Princeton in basketball game