Texas Tech Athletics
Abilene Christian
Lady Raiders Tame ACU Wildcats, 71-65
December 02, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders held off a feisty Abilene Christian squad, 71-65, on Wednesday night, at United Supermarkets Arena.Texas Tech (5-1) suffered from a slow start against the Wildcats, shooting a season-low 26.7% from the field and turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter, mainly due to Rayven Brooks and Ivonne CookTaylor encountering early foul trouble. ACU led, 17-11, after the opening frame.
"We started out of sync, especially on the offensive end," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "We had five turnovers in the early part of the game and obviously turned it over way too much against the 2-3 zone. We've got to convert at the free throw line and I think if we do those two things, the score is different. I'm proud we could hang on and win and hopefully we learn a lot from this."
It wasn't just Tech that started cold. Abilene Christian (4-2) missed 11 of its first 15 shots from the field and shot 20-62 (32.3%) for the game on its way to scoring 16 points below its season average. Tech has yet to allow an opponent to shoot 40% or better.
"I thought we raised our level of intensity when we needed to at the end of the game," Whitaker said. "We did a better job of staying in front and did a good job of not gambling or getting out of position. We came up with some critical rebounds toward the end of the game."
The Lady Raiders warmed up in the second quarter, outscoring ACU 25-15 for a 36-32 halftime lead. Tech extended its lead in the third quarter, leading 54-44 heading into the final stanza. Despite the slow start, Tech finished 27-60 from the field (45.0%).
The Wildcats battled back from there. ACU, behind a 14-point 11-rebound night from Lubbock native Suzzy Dimba, scratched and clawed its way back in via second chance points, and eventually closed the lead to 62-60 with three minutes to play. Tech split three consecutive trips to the free throw line before Dayo Olabode hit a huge corner three to make it 68-60 with less than 90 seconds to go, which proved to be the difference.
BOOM! Dayo Olabode splashes a huge corner three to put Tech ahead 68-60 with just 1:29 to go. #WreckEm
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) December 3, 2015
"When you hit your first double-double in college basketball it's a great feeling," Sanders said. "I have my teammates to thank for that and especially my coaches. My teammates were able to get me the ball when I needed to get it."
Freshman guard Japreece Dean had yet another effective outing, scoring seven points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a career-high five assists. Leashja Grant chipped in nine rebounds to go along with six points, two steals and two blocks.
The Lady Raiders will be back in action Dec. 9, taking on Idaho. Tipoff at the United Supermarkets Arena is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., CT.
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.
