Freshmen step up big late, No. 6 Texas downs No. 14 Ohio State to reach Women’s NCAA Elite Eight

Texas builds its philosophy on defense and intensity. The Longhorns needed both late on Friday in order to advance to the Elite Eight.

Senior Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 17 points, freshman Rory Harmon came though with critical points in the last 2 minutes and second-seeded Texas topped sixth-seeded Ohio State 66-63 in a Women’s NCAA Sweet 16 showdown at Spokane Arena on Friday.

Harmon, an honorable mention All-American, was in foul trouble most of the night. But she knocked down a big bucket with 1 minute, 14 seconds to go after Ohio State trimmed a 10-point deficit to two.

She was knocked down hard when the Buckeyes had to foul to stop the clock, but she gathered herself to calmly drop two free throws to make it a three-point game again with 10 seconds left.

“She was a little bit – it was a pretty hard foul,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “She just needed a minute, and I was just telling her, ‘Hey, you’re good. You’re going to make two free throws. You’re going to be up 3.’

“The kid was disappointed being in foul trouble, comes back and makes – that shot she makes to put us back up three is as big as there is, and then makes two big free throws.”

That’s when Texas’ defensive mettle was tested.

Ohio State scrambled to launch a tying 3, but fellow freshman Aaliyah Moore – who moments earlier missed a layup which would have provided a five-point lead – stepped up to block Tanaya Beacham’s last-second attempt to help the Longhorns escape with the win.

“We were boxing out on the backside and I’m glad that A-Mo blocked that shot,” senior post Lauren Ebo said. “Obviously it was a big-time block, especially after missing a layup. I’m glad even as a freshman she could keep her head in it and that was extremely important. We all told her how much that meant for our team and for the win.”

“Obviously we needed a 3, being down three,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “So we had an action on the backside, but they did a great job of defending it. We weren’t able to turn the corner to try to skip it across the baseline.”

It wasn’t easy for the No. 6 Longhorns (29-6). Every time it looked like they would get momentum, the Buckeyes came clawing back.

“March doesn’t care how you’re ranked,” Schaefer said. “March doesn’t care how you’ve finished in your conference. It doesn’t care. You’ve got to go play the game.”

Texas built a 10-point lead – the biggest of the night for either team – with 5:51 left after Harmon’s first basket of the night, followed by a jumper in the paint by Moore. But Harmon picked up her fourth foul on the next possession and had to sit.

All-Big-10 guard Jacy Sheldon converted a three-point play, then drilled a 3 from the corner. Braxtin Miller hit a floater in the paint, and it was a two-point game with 31/2 minutes to go.

“That was a big momentum shift for us,” Sheldon said. “We were playing as hard as we could that whole game. We got a few plays that went our way. At that point we were just telling each other we’ve still got a chance to win it, and we fought it to the end.”

Taylor Mikesell got loose for 3 to get it to one, Harmon hit a pull-up jumper and Beacham answered to make it 64-63 with 49 seconds to go.

Texas broke Ohio State’s press, but Moore missed a fastbreak layup, giving the Buckeyes life.

During a timeout, Schaefer gave Moore a pep talk.

“We just talked about ‘OK, this is how we like it.’ When it gets hard, when it gets tough, when it really gets difficult, it’s about how we like it at Texas. We told her, ‘No worries. Let’s go get a stop.’”

Ohio State struggled to get the ball into the frontcourt, then Moore swatted Meacham’s last-second attempt.

“We went out and talked about getting a stop and boy, she made a big play, didn’t she?” Schaefer said. “That’s a big play, y’all. Big play by a freshman, going up there and putting her hand on that ball and blocking it. Kid never got it out of her hand.”

The Buckeyes led by five with 4 minutes left in the first half, but Allen-Taylor went on a personal 7-0 run to give Texas a 32-30 lead at intermission.

“I was just saying, get downhill,” Allen-Taylor said. “They were sagging off of me, and that’s my shot.

“Coach tells me every single day that’s my shot. If I can get to the pull-up, that’s my shot, and I rose up and shot it and it went in.”

In the moment, she didn’t think about willing her team to get back in the game.

“I don’t think like that. I’m just making plays for my team,” she said. “Trying to do everything I can to get the win. I guess in hindsight you can say, yeah, it’s my responsibility because I’m a senior but like in the game, in the moment I’m just making plays, that’s it.”

Mikesell led Ohio State (25-7) with 19 points and Sheldon finished with 17.