LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rori Harmon scored 26 points and No. 4 Texas held on to beat No. 3 UCLA 76-65 on Wednesday in the Players Era Championship.
After building a 23-point lead late in the third quarter, the Longhorns staved off UCLA’s late surge to advance to Thursday’s championship game.
Texas (6-0) will face the winner of South Carolina-Duke in the title game, while the Bruins (6-1) will play the loser for third place.
Madison Booker finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns. Jordan Lee had 13 points and Justice Carlton chipped in 10.
The Bruins trailed by just four after a 24-7 run, sparked Kiki Rice's 12 points. But three failed possessions - a missed 3-pointer and two turnovers - allowed Texas to pull away.
Gianna Kneepkens and Rice led the Bruins, each with 17 points. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 13 points on 50% shooting.
Texas was superior defensively in the first quarter, forcing seven UCLA turnovers and turning them into six points. Despite going 0 for 4 from the 3-point line, the Longhorns were 9 of 15 (47.4%) from inside the arc in the opening period to take a 10-point lead after one.
The Longhorns doubled their lead in the second quarter, outscoring UCLA by 10 again, to take a 45-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Texas shot a blistering 51.4% in the first half, while UCLA stumbled to a 44.4% clip after 20 minutes.
UCLA survived a scare when Lauren Betts left the game early in the third quarter with what appeared to be an upper-body injury.
Betts, an AP preseason All-American selection, collided with Booker and writhed in pain on the court, grabbing her arm as trainers tended to her. Betts returned to the game after spending several minutes in the locker room.
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens- college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
We're excited to announce our India Community Travel in Spring 2026! Join this virtual Zoom … Read moreTravel to India Information Session (Online)
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Dirk van Ulden said:
LadyofShalott said:
Love Mr. Stanford!! Wonderful professor, nice guy
Mike Harris said:
You are correct. Right on!
Dirk van Ulden said:
I always thought that his disorder was race baiting. But, they discovered another one?
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.