Texas Tech women's basketball: Fast start propels Lady Raiders to win over No. 25 Kansas State

Bryn Gerlich, like the rest of the Texas Tech women's basketball team, entered Saturday's game frustrated after dropping consecutive winnable games.

She felt the Lady Raiders beat themselves against Oklahoma State and West Virginia, the former at home three days after upsetting then-No. 9 Texas.

Gerlich wasted little time releasing that energy on Kansas State.

The junior guard nailed 3 of 3 attempts from beyond the arc in the first quarter, part of a furious start that sparked Tech to a convincing 64-45 win over the No. 25 Wildcats in front of 5,015 fans at United Supermarkets Arena.

"The last two games were just really frustrating because we got beat on our own controllabes," said Gerlich, who scored a career-high 16 points. "We didn't take care of business, and we know we can. That's what was most frustrating about those two games. Coming to this game and taking care of those things that we know we can control, it puts a lot of confidence in our team."

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The Lady Raiders went up by as many as 20 points in the first half in sending KSU to its own second consecutive loss. The Wildcats, who entered the AP rankings this week, never led.

"I think that's probably the most complete game we've played this year," Tech coach Krista Gerlich said, "just from start to finish. Following our game plan, keeping our composure and just continuing to do the easy things that we talked about doing in our practices. …

"I thought Bryn did a fantastic job of getting us started, of being confident in her shot and knocking down some big ones and playing with emotion. We need that, and we need that passion and some swag."

The Lady Raiders maintained a double-digit lead the final 32 minutes, 57 seconds of the game, but there were a few tense moments in the second half. The Wildcats outscored Tech 21-13 in the third quarter, with Serena Sundell's 3-pointer following an offensive rebound cutting the deficit to 10 late in the period.

But KSU managed only two points in the fourth quarter, with Gerlich's 3-pointer with 4:58 remaining serving as the dagger to put Tech up 60-45.

All-America guard Vivian Gray scored a game-best 23 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. After missing her first three attempts, the senior from Argyle caught fire to end the opening half. Gray hit seven of her next eight shots, which included eight points in the final 3:43 of the first quarter. She had 14 points at halftime.

Tech scored the game's first seven points, holding KSU scoreless until Ayoka Lee's bucket 3 minutes and 50 seconds into the contest. Gerlich, who started her first Big 12 game of the season, had nine points, while Gray hit jumpers on three consecutive possessions en route to a 23-7 lead after the first period.

The defense was just as impressive, holding the Wildcats to 3 of 13 shooting.

Slowing down Lee, the Big 12's leading scorer, was a focal point for the Lady Raiders. Fronting the 6-foot-6 junior center and double-teaming when she caught the ball in the post, Tech forced Lee to miss her first three shots.

Lee, who entered the game averaging 24.2 points, finished with 12 to tie Sundell for the team lead. It was Lee's lowest scoring output since a 10-point performance against Tennessee-Martin in the second game of the season.

Freshman center Khadija Faye was a catalyst for the defense in her fifth start of the year. Matched up against Lee, the 6-4 Faye finished with three defensive rebounds and five steals — three of which came in the fourth quarter on pass attempts to Lee.

"Hadi (was) just really making it difficult (for Lee)," Krista Gerlich said. "She played big. She played in front of (Lee), she kept her feet moving and she battled and she was really physical."

Coach Gerlich called the game plan a "three-pronged defensive effort," praising Taylah Thomas' pressure on the Wildcats' point guards and the backside help on Lee.

"I just thought that all three levels were really executed well today," Krista Gerlich said.

Tech' s stout defense continued in the second quarter, holding KSU to 31.6% shooting. The Lady Raiders' lead ballooned to 20 points before taking a 40-22 advantage into halftime. For the game, the Wildcats shot 28.6%.

Tech also cleaned up its turnovers, committing 13. That was a recent bugaboo for the Lady Raiders, who also ended a three-game home losing skid.

"I thought that we learned some really valuable lessons in the last week," Krista Gerlich said. "I hate that they were at the expense of a loss, but at the same time, if that doesn't happen in those two games, we probably don't beat this team today."

What's next?

Tech (9-7 overall, 2-3 Big 12) starts a two-game road trip on Wednesday against TCU in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs (5-8, 1-3) fell to Oklahoma 100-71 on Saturday.

KSU (13-4, 3-2) will try to bounce back at home Wednesday against rival Kansas. The Jayhawks (11-2, 2-1) host No. 14 Baylor on Sunday.

TEXAS TECH 64, NO. 25 KANSAS STATE 45

KANSAS ST. (13-4, 3-2)

Lee 6-12 0-0 12, Glenn 2-6 0-2 5, Sundell 4-13 2-2 12, Glenn 1-6 0-0 2, Ebert 0-5 0-0 0, Macke 2-5 0-0 5, Dallinger 2-10 0-0 6, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Goodrich 1-2 1-2 3, Lauterbach 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 18-63 3-6 45.

TEXAS TECH (9-7, 2-3)

Gerlich 6-12 0-0 16, Thomas 1-3 0-3 2, Faye 4-12 3-6 11, Hightower 2-4 0-0 4, Gray 11-22 1-1 23, Tofaeono 0-0 1-2 1, Embry 1-2 0-0 2, Veitenheimer 0-1 0-0 0, McKinney 2-3 0-0 5, Wenger 0-1 0-0 0, Ukkonen 0-0 0-0 0.

Halftime_Texas Tech 40-22. 3-Point Goals_Kansas St. 6-26 (Glenn 1-3, Sundell 2-5, Glenn 0-2, Ebert 0-3, Macke 1-4, Dallinger 2-7, Moore 0-1, Lauterbach 0-1), Texas Tech 5-11 (Gerlich 4-6, Hightower 0-1, Gray 0-2, Veitenheimer 0-1, McKinney 1-1). Rebounds_Kansas St. 36 (Lee 8), Texas Tech 44 (Faye, Gray 8). Assists_Kansas St. 13 (Sundell 4), Texas Tech 11 (Gerlich 5). Total Fouls_Kansas St. 14, Texas Tech 11. A_5,015.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech women's basketball: Lady Raiders start fast, down No. 25 KSU