Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Oklahoma State
Late Run Pushes No. 25 Oklahoma State Past Lady Raiders
February 07, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Ivonne CookTaylor led the Lady Raiders with 17 points in their 70-57 loss at Oklahoma State on Sunday.
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Feb. 7, 2016
STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders only trailed by five points entering the fourth quarter at No. 25 Oklahoma State on Sunday, but a big-time performance from OSU's Brittney Martin pushed the Cowgirls past the Lady Raiders, 70-57.
The Lady Raiders (11-12, 2-10) started the game by draining their first two shot attempts and had an early 5-4 lead. However, a steady diet of Martin and OSU free throws gave the Cowgirls a 20-9 lead after one quarter. Martin had 14 of her 32 points in the opening frame.
"I thought it was a good game and we battled hard," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "I was proud to see better energy and better effort. Brittney Martin is really good. I thought we defended her well in man-to-man. We wanted to play more zone, but when we did, she carved us up."
However, in the second quarter, the Lady Raiders battled back. Trailing 24-11, Tech scored on four-straight possessions, including back-to-back threes from Dayo Olabode, to cut the lead to seven, at 28-21. From there, OSU got a layup, but the Lady Raiders responded with a three pointer from Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate Japreece Dean and a layup from Ryann Bowser to trim the lead to 30-26. It was still a four-point spread at the half, with OSU leading, 34-30.
The third quarter was an absolute seesaw battle, which saw the Lady Raiders climb within two points of the Cowgirls on six different occasions, the last of which being a deep three from Bowser, which made it a 48-47 game, with one minute to go in the third frame. Tech's third-quarter spark was provided by Ivonne CookTaylor, who scored 10 of her 17 points in the third, including a traditional three-point play midway through the period. CookTaylor went 4-5 from the field, 2-2 from the free throw line and grabbed three rebounds in that third quarter.
WATCH: CookTaylor takes us to the media timeout with a driving layup and the foul! Tech trails OKST, 42-39. #WreckEm https://t.co/dcBsdM3bpt
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) February 7, 2016
Those Martin free throws turned what was nearly a 50-50 tie into a 52-47 Cowgirl lead going into the fourth. That bit of momentum provided a spark for the Cowgirls. Back-to-back buckets from OSU's Kaylee Jensen and Mandy Coleman gave OSU a 56-47 lead, but Bowser responded with a three to bring the lead back down to 56-50.
However, the Cowgirls caught fire from there. A 9-0 run, aided by two Martin jumpers, ballooned the OSU lead to 65-50, and the Lady Raiders were not able to recover.
"Our focus was on taking care of the things we can control," Whitaker said. "Those include our attitude, our energy, our effort and our attention to detail. I thought we had a great week of practice and played much harder [today]. We just did a better job of taking care of what we can control."
Dean joined CookTaylor in double digits, going 2-5 from long range for the second-straight game on her way to 11 points, as did Leashja Grant, who went 5-8 from the field on her way to 10 points. CookTaylor also led the Lady Raiders in rebounding, collecting seven.
Tech was three points away from having five double-figure scorers, as Bowser finished with nine points and Olabode ended up with eight.
The Lady Raiders were able to hold OSU to 0-7 from long range, but the Cowgirls shot 25-47 from inside the arc (.532), outscored the Lady Raiders in second chance points, 14-6 and outscored the Lady Raiders in the paint, 34-16. As a team, Tech shot 19-55 (.345) from the field, 7-20 (.350) from deep and 12-18 (.667) from the charity stripe.
The Lady Raiders were outrebounded 38-33 by the Cowgirls, but were able to collect 12 offensive boards.
The Lady Raiders will not be in action again until Feb. 13, against Baylor. That contest will not only be the Lady Raiders' Senior Day Celebration, but also the annual Play 4 Kay Pink Game.
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.
