It was an action-packed day of women’s college basketball. From the Texas Longhorns finally getting their revenge to the South Carolina Gamecocks continuing to grow stronger with each passing game, the day delivered plenty of storylines across the sport.

Elsewhere, Unrivaled continues to fuel the growth of women’s basketball, and its success has drawn praise from someone with real skin in the game. Geno Auriemma, who is also an investor in the league, shared his perspective on the league.

Rori Harmon Helps End LSU’s Win Streak

The last time Rori Harmon and the Texas Longhorns faced the LSU Tigers, the veteran guard struggled to find her rhythm. The fatigue from traveling 700 kilometers was evident, as Harmon scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting and never saw the floor in the fourth quarter.

For a player who had already dropped 26 against UCLA and buried a game-winner against South Carolina, her struggles in the first meeting were a major reason Vic Schaefer’s side lost by five. This time, however, there was no chance of a repeat inside a packed Moody Center.

Harmon finished the night with 11 points, five assists, and six steals, but the box score only told part of the story. Harmon became the Texas Longhorns’ all-time leader in career steals, breaking the previous mark of 347 and pushing the record to 351. And yes, the record-breaking did not stop there!

For those unaware, Rori Harmon already holds the program record for assists with 894. Remarkably, she is also the only active Division I player to lead her team in both career steals and assists. A true women’s basketball legend!

Her performance helped snap LSU’s seven-game unbeaten run, the longest active streak in the SEC, and Kim Mulkey had nothing but praise for her afterward. Go check out what Mulkey had to say. 

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Records Galore in South Carolina–Mississippi State Game

Despite starting the game shorthanded and missing two starters due to leg injuries, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks had little trouble handling the SEC’s giant killers, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, with a trio of stars delivering a record-breaking performance.

Let’s begin with Joyce Edwards, who once again set the tone for South Carolina. Edwards poured in 21 points on an ultra-efficient 8-of-11 shooting night and handed out six assists, making it look routine. The performance also pushed her past the 1,000-career-point mark, making her the fifth-fastest Gamecock to reach the milestone.

She now joins A’ja Wilson and Sheila Foster as the only sophomores in program history to reach the mark and did so in record time. Edwards needed just 64 games, surpassing Foster’s 68 and Wilson’s 69. But she wasn’t alone tonight.

Dawn Staley went with her seventh different starting lineup of the season, giving the nod to Ayla McDowell and Madina Okot. The rookie responded in a big way, matching her career high with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting while drilling four of her eight attempts from beyond the arc. Those four treys also marked a new SEC career high for McDowell.

Madina Okot joined the party with her 14th double-double of the year, posting 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. The result was a dominant 88–45 rout as South Carolina dismantled a Mississippi State team that had already knocked off Kentucky and Tennessee this season.

Geno Auriemma Continues to Elevate Women’s Basketball

Questions about Unrivaled’s viability followed it everywhere. Could it draw crowds? Could it last? Philadelphia delivered the answer. With 21,490 fans filling the building, Unrivaled shattered the attendance record for a professional women’s basketball regular-season game and created the most attended event ever at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Following UConn’s win against DePaul, Geno Auriemma was questioned about Unrivaled’s growing numbers. The Hall of Fame coach opened up about why he chose to invest in the league in the first place.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve seen enough that it’s different, right? Now, somebody asked me one time about the names of all the teams and all this other stuff, and I’m like, “No, I don’t know all that stuff.” Or, “You’re an investor. Shouldn’t you know that?” Auriemma said, “No, I mean, I’m an investor in Apple, and I don’t know about how they make phones and all that stuff. So, I tell people that I invested in Stewie and Napheesa as people because I believe in them. And then I watch to see what it looks like, and it looks amazing.”

It is encouraging to see Geno Auriemma continue supporting his former players in their efforts to grow women’s basketball, though this is certainly a unique way of doing it. Traditionally, investments are made with clear financial returns in mind. Women’s basketball, however, has never been built on profitability alone, which makes Auriemma’s backing of the league all the more meaningful.