Lady Raiders knock off Horned Frogs
LUBBOCK, Texas – Four Lady Raiders scored in double-figures as Texas Tech overtook the TCU Horned Frogs, 71-65, on Saturday afternoon at the United Supermarkets Arena.
It was the second time in conference play that four Lady Raiders (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) had double-digit scoring games as Jasmine Shavers led the team with 19, followed by Jordyn Merritt with 16, Loghan Johnson with 13 and Bailey Maupin with 12. Shavers was able to draw a team-best eight fouls as she connected with eight of her career-best 11 free throw attempts. She also added five rebounds and a career-high five steals against the Horned Frogs (15-5, 2-7 Big 12).
Merritt put on another show as she went 6-of-11 (.545) from the field, 4-of-4 from the free throw line and totaled four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Johnson posted her second-straight game with double-figure scoring and a field goal percentage above .650 as she connected with 6-of-9 from the field while tallying three boards in the game. Maupin led the team with six rebounds on the day, while sophomore Kilah Freelon added six points and a career-best five assists against TCU.
Tech has now won two Big 12 games in the same week dating back to the 2020-21 season when the Lady Raiders defeated both Texas and Kansas during the week of January 17, 2021. The Lady Raiders were also able to take care of the ball as they totaled 10 assists to just nine turnovers, while forcing a team, who is atop the conference in turnovers per game with 13.2, to 22.
Texas Tech outrebounded the Frogs as they collected 29 with 15 of those coming on the offensive end. In addition, the Lady Raiders shot 42.4 percent from the field (25-of-59) and scored 36 points in the paint to TCU’s 14.
In the first quarter, Merritt stole the ball then scored a layup followed by another one from Shavers, but those would be the only points scored for Tech over the next three and a half minutes. In that time, TCU would go on a run to lead 12-4. TCU then hit two more 3-pointers in the period before Merritt added one more layup as the Frogs led by an 18-7 score.
The Lady Raiders picked it up in the next quarter, outscoring TCU 25-8 to gain the advantage heading into the half. TCU made another three at the 8:54 mark, but the Lady Raiders would score the next 17 points over five minutes of play to take a 26-21 lead. The run started when Merritt and Shavers scored back-to-back layups, then Shavers connected with the free throw to complete the 3-point play after being fouled. Johnson and Maupin recorded the next six points before Shavers hit two more free throws. The Horned Frogs ended the run with a three at 2:50, but the Lady Raiders closed the period with a 6-2 run of their own for the 32-26 lead at half.
TCU began the third period with a 3-pointer to cut into Tech’s lead. Both teams went back-and-forth on the scoring end until Johnson knocked down the Lady Raiders’ first three of the game for a six-point advantage. Once again, Tech and TCU traded points before the Lady Raiders got two more 3-pointers from Maupin and Shavers. The Frogs would try and claw back, ending the quarter on a 6-2 run, but the Lady Raiders held the lead at 59-52.
Ashley Chevalier started the fourth quarter off with a big-time three to extend Tech’s lead to double-digits. However, the Horned Frogs answered with a 10-0 run to even things at 62-all. Maupin was able to stop their run by drawing a foul, then making her two free throws, which sparked an 8-0 run for the Lady Raiders. At 4:50, Merritt connected with a layup to give Tech a 68-62 advantage, but both teams would not score for almost four minutes of play after that. Merritt and Shavers then closed out the period with free throws as Texas Tech earned its fifth conference win by a 71-65 score.
QUOTES
Head Coach Krista Gerlich
Opening statement…
“What a great win. Any Big 12 win is a great win. We knew that TCU would come out and shoot the three well because they run that motion offense. So, they basically are playing with five guards and it’s difficult for us to keep them in front of us. We need to do a better job, clearly. I thought that guarding the three-point line and then our press hurt us quite a bit and we let them get some shots on the end of it, especially in the third quarter. I thought we did lock down a little bit better in the fourth quarter, and found a way to hold them off and to win. So, huge hustle plays. I thought getting on the floor for loose balls was fantastic by Loghan. I thought Jazzy really stepped up first of all… She had five steals. Secondly, she ended up guarding No. 21 for us to get her to slow down a little bit and then obviously she scores the basketball really well, and so she was a big-time player tonight. But what a great, great crowd, I cannot emphasize that enough. If you don’t put anything else on the news, please put that piece on it. Because we need that, we need that help. These girls are super fun to watch and super fun to coach, and they’re just going to get better and better… Our home crowd gives us that edge and they certainly helped us tonight. I just want to thank everybody that came out.”
On the adjustments made in the second quarter…
“I think we had some urgency, obviously. I think whenever they (TCU) tied it, I think our kids understood that it wasn’t really about the offensive side of it. We had to get stops, we had to quit letting them have opportunities. And, give TCU a shoutout because they really shot the ball well, 13-for-20 from the three is tough, but we have to do a better job of just having that urgency and guarding off the dribble a little bit better. So, I thought that our kids just played with more urgency.”
#3 Guard Jasmine Shavers
On the second quarter comeback…
“I think our biggest thing in the second quarter was we had to get stops. We can’t continue to trade baskets. Offensively, we were getting the looks we wanted, we just needed to finish. When we settled down offensively and started executing and finishing, and then getting stops on the defensive end, that’s where we started to make our comeback.”
#23 Guard Loghan Johnson
On the second quarter comeback…
“I think a lot of it, especially for me personally, was just about settling in. We had a lot more urgency on both sides of the ball and we were able to be aggressive and get some really good looks.”
UP NEXT
The Lady Raiders are on the road next week as they take on the Cincinnati Bearkats in Ohio on Saturday, February 3 at 1 p.m.
–TECH–
Release Provided By Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
