Texas Tech Athletics
Iowa
Lady Raiders' Comeback Bid Falls Short
November 27, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech mounted a furious comeback against Iowa in the first round of the Paradise Jam tournament at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, but ran out of time, falling to the Hawkeyes, 56-48, Thursday evening. Tech suffered its first loss of the season and is 4-1, while Iowa improved to 4-1.
The Lady Raiders trailed by 17 with 3:59 to play and held Iowa scoreless the rest of the way, while adding nine points to the scoreboard to cut Iowa's lead to the final score. A 14-1 Hawkeye run that spanned nearly seven minutes early in the second half and a poor shooting night from the field proved to the be the crucial point in the game for Texas Tech.
"You can't make five shots from the perimeter and miss 14 free throws and have a chance to win," Texas Tech Head Coach Kristy Curry said. "We shot the ball poorly. You can't shoot 25 percent from the field and have a chance to beat anybody."
Kierra Mallard hit 5-of-7 from the field for 14 points and collected a team-high nine rebounds to lead Texas Tech, while Dominic Seals added 10 points and six boards. The Lady Raiders out-rebounded the Hawkeyes 43-37, including giving themselves several second-chance opportunities with 23 offensive rebounds. LaVonda Henderson dished out three assists, while Maddy Brown grabbed three steals.
Iowa's Wendy Ausdemore led all scorers with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Kristi Smith added 15 points for the Hawkeyes.
"The positive is we hopefully can learn from a night like tonight and move on," Curry added. "That's the good thing about a night like tonight is you get a chance to play tomorrow."
The Lady Raiders face No. 3/6 California on Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT and wrap up the three-day event against South Florida on Saturday at 5 p.m. All games can be heard live on the Texas Tech Sports Network and also on-line at www.texastech.com.
