Texas Tech Closes Out Sweep of K-State
LUBBOCK, Texas – For the first time since the Big 12 Conference went to double-round robin, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders closed out a series sweep of Kansas State, downing the Wildcats 78-68, Sunday at United Supermarkets Arena.
In the victory, Texas Tech (16-7, 4-6 Big 12) received 18 points and nine rebounds from Bre’Amber Scott and 17 points and seven rebounds from freshman Jasmine Shavers.
Bryn Gerlich added 16 points and three assists, while freshman Bailey Maupin scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The 16-point performance for Maupin marks the first time she’s surpassed 15 points in a Big 12 game this season.
Despite allowing Kansas State (14-10, 3-8) to attempt 29 free throws attempts, the Lady Raiders did a good job defensively, holding K-State to just 4-of-20 shooting from behind the 3-point arc.
In the two matchups, Tech held the Wildcats to just 11 made triples on 50 attempts (22 percent).
Guard Serena Sundell led the way for K-State Sunday, scoring 27 points on just seven field goal attempts. Sundell was 16-of-18 from the line and added four assists and four steals.
She was one of three ‘Cats to reach double figures as Gabby Gregory scored 16 points on 13 shot attempts and Brylee Glenn added 12 points.
In the two matchups, the Big 12s leading scorer, Gregory, managed just 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting.
The Lady Raiders forced 18 K-State turnovers, turning them into 25 key points.
With the victory, the Lady Raiders continue their best start since the 2012-13 season when they opened 16-4 before finishing 22-11. That season is the last time Tech made an NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After K-State scored the first basket of the ball game, Tech used a triple from Gerlich to a take an early 3-2 lead.
On their next possession, the Wildcats used a backdoor layup from Gregory to take their final lead of the game at 4-3 with 8:12 to play in the opening quarter.
The Lady Raiders responded, scoring the games next six points to take a 10-4 lead with 6:06 to play.
After K-State made a strong run over the next two minutes and change to tie the game at 11-all, Tech used five quick points from Maupin to take an 18-11 lead with 16 seconds to play.
K-State used a second chance layup from Sundell with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter to pull to within 18-13 after 10 minutes of play.
The Wildcats opened the second period with a triple from forward Sarah Shematsi to get to within 18-16, but Tech used an and-one from Shavers to close a 9-1 run.
The outburst gave Tech its first double figure lead at 27-17 with 6:42 to play.
K-State would respond, scoring six of the next seven to cut the Tech lead to just 28-23 with 5:16 to play.
Needing to regain momentum, Tech used back-to-back triples from Tatum Veitenheimer and Maupin to close the half on a 10-5 run. The second triple that Maupin hit was assisted by Veitenhiemer. With that assist, the Oklahoma transfer eclipsed 300 for her career becoming the third Lady Raider to reach 300 assists on this years team (Gerlich, Katie Ferrell).
Tech shot 50 percent from both the floor (7-of-14) and from 3-point range (4-of-8) in the second quarter, and lead 38-28 at the break.
K-State opened the third quarter well, scoring six of the first eight points to get to within 40-34, but Tech quickly answered with an 8-0 run to take a 48-34 lead.
The run forced a K-State timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Wildcats caught a second wind, scoring 12 of the next 13 points to claw back to within three points (49-46) with just under 14 minutes to play in the game.
Needing a spark, Tech turned to Maupin and Scott, who scored six points in-a-row to close a 9-3 run over the next three minutes of action. The spurt gave Tech a 58-49 lead with 44 seconds to play in the third period.
K-State scored the final two points on a pair of free throws to cut the Tech lead to 58-51 heading to the fourth.
Behind 11-of-12 shooting from the line and 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, K-State outscored Tech 23-20 in the third.
In the fourth, Tech used a clutch triple from Gerlich (her career-best fifth) and an and-one from Scott to score 12 of the first 17 points of the fourth quarter. The run gave Tech a 70-56 lead.
After K-State used a layup from Gregory to get to within 70-58, Tech used another five quick points from Scott to take a game-high 75-58 lead with 2:53 left.
Down the stretch, K-State closed to within 77-68 with 1:02 to play, but a free throw from Ashley Chevalier squashed the Wildcat momentum, giving Tech a 78-68 victory.
The win improves the Lady Raiders to 16-7 overall, meaning the team is now guaranteed to finish the regular season above .500 with eight games remaining.
With the victory, the Lady Raiders snapped a three-game losing skid and recorded win number four in Big 12 play. Tech won just four Big 12 games all of last season.
COACH SPEAK (HC KRISTA GERLICH):
“This was a really solid win for our program today. I’m really proud of our girls, particularly our seniors. I thought that our seniors really held us together, and they played with a lot of poise. I thought they defended really well, stuck to the game plan and every time K-State made a run, I felt like we answered it. Our young kids Bailey, Jasmine, Rhyle [McKinney] and Kilah [Freelon] came in and gave us a eally good offensive punch. And then they were good defensively too. Bailey gives us some athleticism and some explosiveness on the perimeter, which is really nice to have. But overall, I thought it wasn’t a perfect game by any means. We still had too many turnovers. We weren’t great at the free throw line, but for us to still secure a double-digit win is fantastic, especially on our home court. So, I’m so proud of them.”
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• The Lady Raiders won a conference game for the first time this season when making fewer free throws than the opponent.
• Tech was previously 0-5 when that happened.
• K-State made 26-of-29 from the line while Tech made just 13-of-23.
• The Lady Raiders also won a conference game without making 20+ free throws for the first time this season.
• Tech made 21 at TCU, 22 at K-State and 22 vs. Texas.
• The Lady Raiders were 11-of-26 from 3-point range today. The 11 made triples are the second-most Tech has made in a game this season.
• Tech made 11 triples for the second-time in Big 12 play this season. The Lady Raiders were 11-of-20 against Oklahoma back on Jan. 11.
• With the victory, the Lady Raiders have now defeated K-State at home in three consecutive seasons for the first time program history.
• The three-game home winning streak against the Wildcats is just the second three-game streak all-time against KSU. Tech won four straight at home over K-State in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.
• Tech’s 25 points off turnovers are the most in a game since Dec. 27th when Tech scored 26 points off 23 MVSU turnovers.
• The Lady Raiders are 5-1 when scoring 20+ off turnovers. The lone loss was at Kansas (Jan. 4).
• Tech is now 16-1 this season when forcing more than 15 tunovers.
• Tech won despite losing points in the paint for the first time in Big 12 play this season. The Lady Raiders were outscored 24-22 in the paint and were previously 0-5 in those instances.
• After scoring a career-high 25 points with four made 3-pointers on Wednesday, Gerlich added another 16 points tonight on a career-best 5-of-8 shooting from distance.
• For the week, Gerlich scored 41 points and shot 9-of-14 from distance.
• Maupin and Shavers combined for 33 points today, each reaching double figures for the 12th time.
• After struggling to score at OSU and West Virginia, Scott scored 18 points for the eighth time in 10 Big 12 games.
• Despite only scoring one point on Sunday, Katie Ferrell did ‘Big Kat’ things. The point-forward had five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
• The Lady Raiders improve to 8-1 this season when she has 3+ assists and to 7-3 when she plays 20+ minutes. Tech is 3-0 in Big 12 play when she plays 25+ minutes.
UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders make their first trip to the brand-new Moody Center on Wednesday night, when they head to Austin to face the University of Texas. Tip-off from the capital is set for 7 p.m. on Longhorn Network.
–TECH–
Release provided by Andrew Stern Texas Tech Athletics
