Lady Raiders fall in second round of Big 12 Championship to No. 17 Baylor
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite a third quarter comeback where Texas Tech outscored the No. 17 Baylor Bears, 22-12, the Lady Raiders would fall in the second round of the Big 12 Championship, 71-60, on Friday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center.
It was sophomore Jasmine Shavers who led the 12-seeded Lady Raiders (17-16) in scoring for the second game in a row as she posted a 20-point outing against the 5-seeded Bears (24-6). Shavers shot 7-of-12 from the field (.583) to pick up her team-leading eighth 20-plus point scoring game and 26th double-digit scoring game. In addition, Shavers led the team by averaging 24.5 points per game in the Big 12 Championship.
Sophomore Bailey Maupin was right behind Shavers after tallying her team-best 27th double-figure game of the season. Maupin shot 50 percent from the field (7-of-14) to total 15 points. She added two rebounds, an assist and a team-high three steals in the game.
Leading the Lady Raiders in rebounding were Jada Wynn (7) and Jordyn Merritt (6). Wynn was also third on the team with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting, while Merritt and freshman Loghan Johnson recorded six points apiece. In addition, both Merritt and Wynn led the Lady Raiders with three assists. As a team, Texas Tech shot 47.9 percent from the field (23-for-48) and forced 18 Baylor turnovers.
Baylor began the game on an 8-0 until Shavers stopped it with a mid-range jumper at the 6:04 mark. Shavers followed with a free throw then Maupin made a layup to get within three. Baylor responded with a 3-pointer before jumpers from Wynn and Shavers made it 11-9 in the Bears’ favor. The Bears would go on another run to lead the game, 17-9, at the end of the quarter.
Both teams traded points to start the second as Maupin recorded the first seven Lady Raider points in the quarter. Then, Rhyle McKinney came in and banked a 3-pointer to make it 25-19. However, Baylor would score eight of the next 10 points for the 33-21 advantage heading into the media timeout. Once again, both teams went back-and-forth until Wynn scored a three with 1:28 left. Baylor connected with a layup off a steal to close the quarter out with a 40-28 lead.
Texas Tech got its first bucket in the third period from Merritt when she scored a layup. Then, Shavers connected with a 3-pointer with 7:05 left. Merritt and Shavers continued to score after both posted a layup to make it 48-38 going into the media timeout. That layup sparked a huge run for the Lady Raiders as they closed to the deficit to three thanks to buckets from Maupin, and Wynn. With 2:09 left, Merritt made a second-chance layup after grabbing her own offensive board as Baylor led 52-47. The Lady Raiders put on a show in the final minute as Shavers converted the and one play to make it 52-50 at the end of the quarter.
Baylor opened the final period with the first eight points before Johnson made a layup for Tech. Johnson would score a free throw, but the Bears went ahead by a 66-53 score with 4:42 left in the game. At the 3:38 mark, Maupin got an offensive rebound and was able to put it back up for two. Then, Johnson connected with a couple free throws to make it 68-57. Tech would get a steal in the final seconds, followed by two made free throws from Shavers, but Baylor held on to win the game by a 71-60 score.
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Release Provided By Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
