Texas Tech Athletics
Grambling St.
Lady Raiders Tame Tigers, 70-55
December 18, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders held Grambling State scoreless for nine minutes in the second quarter in Friday night's 70-55 win over the Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena.For the second-straight game, it was a double-digit run the Lady Raiders (8-2) used to put away their opponent. At the 9:31 mark of the second quarter, Grambling State held a 16-14 lead. From there, Tech put the clamps on the Tigers. Grambling State did not score again until the 0:22 mark of the second quarter. By then, Tech was on a 17-0 run, its longest of the season. Tech led 31-18 at half.
"I thought we started out really attacking and getting some good things going," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "We missed some layups early and then we started settling for jump shots. After that, we started attacking again and giving ourselves some good opportunities."
Check out the stat breakdown from tonight's win over Grambling State! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/d7gPqcRruK
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) December 19, 2015
That would prove to be one of the themes on Friday, as Tech got 38 combined points from Dean (20) and Grant (18). It was the second 20-point outburst for Dean in four games and the second-straight 18-point performance from Grant. The two combined to shoot an impressive 17-30 (.567) from the field.
In the fourth, Grambling State was able to bring the deficit within single digits on a couple occasions, including 60-51 with 3:10 to go, but from there Olabode hit her second corner three of the night and Dean finished off an old-fashioned three-point play on back-to-back possessions to effectively finish it off.
The Lady Raiders are now 7-0 at home this season and 8-0 when holding opponents under 70 points.
Grambling State played small lineups trying to create mismatches on offense, so Tech had to win decisively on the boards, and the Lady Raiders did. Tech collected 51 boards for its second 50-rebound performance of the season compared to just 31 rebounds for the Tigers. Tech is now 8-0 this season when outrebounding opponents.
Tech shot 28-69 (40.6%) from the floor compared to 21-59 (35.6%) for the Tigers. The Lady Raiders were also good from the free throw line for the second-straight game, going 9-10. Only one Tech opponent has shot at least 40% from the field this season.
Rayven Brooks was the third Lady Raider to score in double figures on Friday, registering 13 points, going 5-6 from the free throw line to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Olabode chipped in eight points and eight rebound off the bench, going 2-2 from three-point range.
The Lady Raiders will return to action Sunday afternoon against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with tipoff at United Supermarkets Arena set for 2 p.m.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the women's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/LadyRaiderWBB and @LadyRaiderWBB on Twitter.
