Texas Tech Athletics
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Balanced Lady Raider Attack Drops Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 84-40
December 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders wrapped up non-conference play by destroying Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 84-40, on Sunday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena.The Lady Raiders (9-2) were led by sophomore transfer Brielle Blaire, who struck for a career-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting, including 2-4 from long range. Blaire was one of four Lady Raiders (Rayven Brooks, Japreece Dean and Dayo Olabode) to score in double figures. Tech will move into Big 12 play on a three-game winning streak overall, and with a spotless 8-0 record at home.
LADY RAIDERS WIN! Brielle Blaire was 🔥🔥🔥 today, scoring a career-high 19 in an 84-40 win! Tech is 9-2! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/uo6LpV9arH
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) December 20, 2015
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-7) scored the first basket of the game, but a quick 8-0 run featuring a pair of threes from Rayven Brooks put the Lady Raiders ahead for good. Tech led 19-8 after the first quarter, powered by Brooks scoring 10 of her 12 in the frame. The Lady Raiders pushed the difference to 45-23 at halftime after scoring 26 second-quarter points.
The Golden Lions started the third quarter on an 8-2 run to close within 16 at 47-31, but that is as close as they would get. Out of a timeout, Tech responded with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Bowser three to extend the lead to 54-31. Bowser had an effective game, with eight points and a game-high six assists. Tech led 64-35 through three quarters.
Blaire had 14 of her 19 points in the second half, eight of those coming in the fourth quarter, when Tech really salted the game away, outscoring the Golden Lions, 20-5. It marked the fourth opponent this season Tech has held to single digits in a quarter, and the third the Lady Raiders have held to five or less in a quarter.
"Like coach [Whitaker] said, the main thing is just calming down and letting the game come to me, because before now I was rushing a lot of stuff," Blaire said. "It was fun. It was fun to calm down and just play as a unit. It was just really fun."
Tech was dominant in every area of the game. The Lady Raiders had a season-low 10 turnovers, recorded 19 assists on 33 made baskets and shot 46% from the floor while holding UAPB to 29.4%.
On top of that, the Lady Raider bench outscored UAPB's 50-11, and Tech outscored the Golden Lions in the paint, 40-12. Tech scored 16 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds and poured in 25 points off of 20 UAPB turnovers, 13 of which were Lady Raider steals. The Lady Raiders also turned in their third-straight effective game at the free throw line, making 10-12 (83.3%).
"The last time we feel like we played well was against Idaho," Whitaker said. "We had strung a couple of games together that we didn't feel good about. Now, we finally feel the difference. I think they feel the difference and know the difference. They know now that they need to bring that every game if they're going to compete against Big 12 teams."
The Lady Raiders will return to action on Dec. 30 as they begin Big 12 play with TCU. Tipoff at United Supermarkets arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
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.
