Lady Raiders make 13 threes in win over No. 24 Iowa State
LUBBOCK, Texas – Junior Rhyle McKinney provided a spark for the Lady Raiders after hitting five 3-pointers to aid the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to a ranked win over the No. 24 Iowa State Cyclones, 71-63, on Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
In Iowa State’s (12-5, 5-1 Big 12) first defeat in conference play, McKinney came out hot in the first half after scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 (.833) shooting from the field, all of which were beyond the arc. McKinney’s five 3-pointers tied her previous career-high that happened on Dec. 1, 2022 against Alabama State. Leading the Lady Raiders (14-5, 3-3 Big 12) in scoring in the game was Bailey Maupin, who totaled 16 points, four assists and two rebounds.
Sophomore Jasmine Shavers also posted a 15-point night with seven rebounds and three dishes, while both Kilah Freelon and Jordyn Merritt added eight points apiece. Merritt almost collected a double-double after boasting a team-best 10 rebounds while added two steals and a block. In addition, sophomore Jada Wynn had a career-high six assists and added five points. Senior Jazmaine Lewis was a force under the basket as she posted three blocks in the game, just one shy of her career best.
As a team, the Lady Raiders shot 42.9 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from the three-point line, hitting a season-best 13 on the night. They also added 18 assists to just nine turnovers and a season-best six blocks. Texas Tech held Iowa State under their average field-goal percentage as the Cyclones shot 39.3 percent and turned the ball over 14 times.
The Lady Raiders scored the first five points in the first quarter after Merritt connected with a 3-pointer and jumper. McKinney hit her first 3-pointer of the game at the 6:52 mark, then Lewis posted a jumper in the paint as the Lady Raiders took a 10-4 lead. Lewis kept the momentum for Tech after blocking Audi Crooks two times in a row halfway through before McKinney made yet another three. Iowa State kept up with the Lady Raiders but Tech would lead 16-11 thanks to a 3-pointer by Maupin with 30 seconds left.
In the second quarter, McKinney nailed a couple 3-pointers to start the scoring for Tech as the Lady Raiders held the 22-13 advantage. The Cyclones scored the next six points to cut into the lead, but Tech responded with another McKinney three. Iowa State was able to take a 29-27 lead at the 1:32 mark, but the Lady Raiders ended the quarter on a 7-0 run thanks to a couple 3-pointers from Maupin, including one at the buzzer.
Freelon began the third quarter with a jumper before the Cyclones answered with their own. Then, Freelon would rebound her own shot and immediately made a layup to give Tech a seven-point advantage. Wynn connected with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Raiders a 46-37 lead before the media timeout. Then, Shavers helped Tech end the quarter on a 5-0 run after scoring a jumper and three.
Tech went out to a 7-2 run to begin the final period after Merritt, Maupin and Shavers all scored. The Lady Raiders led halfway through the quarter by a 63-49 score before the Cyclones made a few baskets of their own to come within a single-digit deficit. The Lady Raiders kept holding them off however, and would take the ranked win, 71-63, against Iowa State.
QUOTES
Head Coach Krista Gerlich
Opening statement…
“So proud of our kids. Really great win tonight for the Lady Raider program and for Lady Raider Nation. Really proud of the response that they’ve had after last week, you know, that’s what Lady Raider Basketball should look like. That’s what we expect it to look like. Iowa State is a really good basketball team and they’ve won some big games over the last couple of weeks… I thought we really defended well. I didn’t think that we ever let them go on serious runs. We stuck to our game plan really well. We fought for loose basketballs and rebounds and then we just executed offensively. Taking care of the ball clearly makes a huge difference for us. That’s a huge win for our program and I’m really proud of our kids.”
On this win against a ranked team…
“I mean, it’s huge right? We’ve got to protect our home court. It’s going to be really hard to win in the Big 12 on the road. And, whether or not we thought we could have played better last week, we know that when we play at home, we’ve got to protect this place. I know the men do it really well and they’ve got great support, and we need that same support. We need to be able to protect it as well and I think our kids are doing a pretty good job of that this year.”
#5 Guard Rhyle McKinney
On her three-point shooting tonight…
“I think, it’s what any shooter wants going into a game, to get open looks like that. You just have to take advantage of it. I mean, this entire staff, every teammate they’ve preached to me every day to shoot the ball… It’s what I’m best at. So, it just felt good tonight. I felt confident and I just wanted to win so badly for this team, so I just had to contribute with what I do best.”
#42 Center Jazmaine Lewis
On staying ready while coming off the bench…
“Just knowing my role. I knew I had to guard No. 55 most of the time. I knew I had to be ready on the hop to get anything to go.”
On her strong defensive effort…
“Like I said before – just being ready. It felt really good and that kept me going defensively.”
UP NEXT
The Lady Raiders travel to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars this Saturday, January 20 at 5 p.m. CT. in the Marriott Center.
–TECH–
Release provided by Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
