Johnson, Merritt record career highs against Houston
LUBBOCK, Texas – Senior Jordyn Merritt and freshman Loghan Johnson posted career nights as the Texas Tech Lady Raiders toppled the Houston Cougars by a 66-48 score on Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Merritt led the Lady Raiders (15-6, 4-4 Big 12) with a new career-high of 24 points after shooting 10-of-15 from the field with five rebounds, an assist and a block against Houston (11-8, 2-6 Big 12). It was also the first time since Bryn Gerlich at Oklahoma State on Feb. 1, 2023 that a Lady Raider totaled 10 or more field goals in a game.
Johnson also added a career-high 15 points on the night as she shot 5-of-6 from the field and added four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Both Bailey Maupin and Jasmine Shavers collected a team-best four assists on the night, while Elina Arike recorded three of her own.
As a team, the Lady Raiders shot 52.2 percent from the field (24-of-46) while totaling 42 points in the paint, which is the most on conference play so far. This marked the fourth time this season and second time in Big 12 play that the Lady Raiders shot over 50 percent from the field. They also forced 20 Houston turnovers and added 17 assists. Texas Tech held the Cougars to 48 points on the night, making it the fifth time this year that they have held an opponent to 50 or less points.
Texas Tech didn’t make a basket until the 6:42 mark of the first quarter when Merritt scored a layup, which ignited a 6-0 run for the Lady Raiders. Houston posted the next four points until Merritt made another layup on the fastbreak thanks to a dish from Shavers. In the last two minutes of the period, Johnson and Jada Wynn connected with 3-pointers to take a 20-14 lead.
It was a low scoring affair to begin the second quarter, as Tech outscored the Cougars 6-2 in the first four minutes. Houston would make a couple of free throws, then add a three to come within five points, but Merritt answered with a corner 3-pointer to give the Lady Raiders a 29-21 advantage. At the end of the quarter, both Johnson and Kilah Freelon scored layups, but N’Yah Boyd for Houston would make a buzzer beating 3-pointer to cut into the Tech lead, 33-26, at the half.
The Lady Raiders wouldn’t score until the 7:41 mark of the third period when Merritt connected with a jumper to spark a 6-0 run for Tech. The two teams went back-and-forth after that until Ashley Chevalier made a layup with 1:42 left in the quarter. Then, Arike added four more free throws and Freelon scored a layup to end the period with the 50-38 lead.
In the final period, Merritt scored the first three points for the Lady Raiders thanks to a couple free throws and a layup. Then two minutes later, Merritt started another run, this time helping Tech to nine-consecutive points for a 63-42 advantage. Merritt once again drew a foul and made a free throw, before recording a new career-high in points when she made a layup with 30 seconds left to aid the Lady Raiders to a 66-48 victory over the Cougars.
QUOTES
Head Coach Krista Gerlich
Opening statement…
“I thought that was a really good team win tonight. It’s really hard to play the second round, especially when you won the first round, because you tend not to make as many adjustments as the losing team might have. But I thought that our kids really understood the assignment. I thought our defense was stellar tonight, particularly in the half-court. They’re a good basketball team and they run the floor a lot and score a lot of points. For us to be able to hold them under 50, I thought was spectacular. Our offensive execution was so much better tonight. We got lots of paint touches, we got lots of points in the paint. These two (Loghan Johnson and Jordyn Merritt) had exceptional nights, they really understood the assignment and understood how to get to the paint and make good decisions, finish layups, rebound the basketball or run the floor. You name it, they did it. A lot of really good things happened tonight and it was a really good team win.”
On Loghan Johnson’s career night…
“Loghan is obviously extremely athletic and strong. She is really quick with the basketball in her hands and when you’re playing against a defense that is so pressure-oriented, it allows those kids to get past them in one or two dribbles. I thought she did a really good job at finding alleys and lanes that didn’t have a help defender so she could get to the basket. She was very explosive, she played within herself and she just looked a lot more confident. We’re asking her to do so many things on defense as a freshman against some really high-level players and for her to be able to have that offensive night is huge for us because she can score it and she’s pretty explosive. She’s just going to get better and better.”
#12 Forward Jordyn Merritt
On her hot start to the game…
“I believe that my teammates helped get the ball to me, so them allowing me to be comfortable and create shots definitely propelled me for the game.”
#23 Guard Loghan Johnson
On if she had extra motivation during the game being from Houston…
“I felt like I had the opportunity to out there and do what I’m good at.”
UP NEXT
The Lady Raiders remain home this week as they welcome the TCU Horned Frogs for a game on Saturday, January 27 at 2 p.m. in the United Supermarkets Arena.
–TECH–
Release Provided By Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
