locker room

LAS VEGAS — 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 South Carolina in Thursday’s title game, while the Bruins (6-1) will play Duke 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 by Kiki Rice’s 12 points. But three failed possessions — a missed three-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 three-point line, the Longhorns were nine 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.

In a social media world where fights between players in the handshake line, fights among fans in the bleachers and fights in the locker room always seem to receive the most clicks and attention, let’s hope a simple act of sportsmanship and kindness from Saturday’s South Gate-Dorsey football playoff game goes viral.

After South Gate won the City Section Division I semifinal 28-20, several Dorsey players were distraught.

The winning quarterback, junior Michael Gonzalez, heard a strange sound while shaking hands.

“I heard someone crying,” he said. “I looked to my right and saw two players, one I knew and one I didn’t.”

He went over to console both. The player he didn’t know, William Smith of Dorsey, was resting on one knee, head down, helmet off.

Gonzalez said he told him, “There’s more to life than just football. You got college. Keep your head up. It was a good game.”

Losing a semifinal game is tough. But winning and acting with class and respect also can be tough.

Asked where he learned about sportsmanship, Gonzalez said, “It’s what I was taught by my mom and coaches. Be a good person no matter what.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].