Texas Tech Athletics
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Washington State
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Gritty defense gives Tech the edge on WSU, 56-52
November 16, 2024 | Women's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Forcing the most Cougar turnovers this season, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders won a hard-fought game against Washington State, 56-52, on Saturday evening at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Forcing 19 turnovers in the game, Texas Tech (4-0) recorded six steals, six blocks and held the Cougs (2-2) to 19-for-49 (.388) from the field. Leading the Lady Raiders in scoring was Jasmine Shavers, who totaled 13 points with nine of those coming in the fourth quarter. She also led the team with five rebounds and two assists on the night. Bailey Maupin also posted her fourth-consecutive game with double-figure scoring after tallying 11 points on 50 percent shooting.
Junior Sarengbe Sanogo had another great game for Tech after going a perfect 4-for-4 for eight points, scoring six of those in the final period. She led the team with a career-high tying four blocks and added four rebounds against the Cougars. Sophomore Loghan Johnson put up seven points and led the way with two steals and two assists. Both Denae Fritz and Kilah Freelon scored six points on the night, with Freelon tying for the team-lead with five boards. Tech shot 42.9 percent from the field (21-for-49) and grabbed 30 total rebounds, 10 of those being on the offensive side.
Washington State started the scoring of the game with a layup, but Fritz answered with a 3-pointer right after. Sanogo would get a couple blocks in one minute of play to follow, then Maupin made a jumper to make it 5-3 in Tech's favor. Both teams went back-and-forth the entire quarter, eventually tying the first period 12-12 to end it.
The second quarter was a low-scoring affair on both sides as the first bucket wasn't scored until almost two minutes in when Adlee Blacklock made a corner jumper. Washington State scored the next three points, then a scoring drought ensued for a minute and a half until Freelon made two free throws for the slim, 16-15 advantage. Freelon scored another four points at the end of the quarter to give Tech a 24-22 lead going into the half.
The Cougs opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run before Shavers made a layup in response. Washington State added two free throws, then no team scored for almost three minutes when the Cougars made another free throw. Johnson was able to score a basket, then converted the and-one play to tie it at 29-all. However, Washington State made a layup and a 3-pointer for a 34-29 lead. With one second on the clock, Fritz scored a layup to get within three, 31-34.
The Cougars recorded the first four points of the final quarter for a 38-31 advantage. Shavers would get a stop when she drew a charge, then immediately got fouled on the other end to give Tech a couple of points. Texas Tech called a timeout, then the Lady Raiders came out of it hot, scoring nine-consecutive points for a 42-38 lead. Washington State hit back-to-back threes to retake the lead, 44-42. Coming out of another timeout, Johnson scored a free throw and Sanogo connected with a layup for a 45-44 lead. Both teams kept scoring, trading leads until the Cougs nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 51-51 with a little over a minute left. Maupin took control, scoring the last three points for Tech to help the Lady Raiders win, 56-52.
Up next, Texas Tech will host Abilene Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Quoteables
Head Coach Krista Gerlich
Opening statement…
"What a huge win for our program, for this team. I'm so proud of the grit and the determination that we played with. It was not pretty by any means, but that was a win that we needed to grind out. It was a game of runs, and we never let one get out of control. I thought we had a response each time [Washington State] went on one, and I thought that these two young ladies [Jasmine Shavers and Bailey Maupin] stepped up in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line and went to war. I mean, really went to war, and that's what we got to have. And we had so many kids that stepped up and did some really good things. And again, not playing our best basketball and finding a way to win is huge for us. I have a lot of respect for, obviously, Kamie Ethridge, her as a player and a coach and what she's done, and that's a good basketball team. That's a really good basketball team, and they have a great tradition, and that's a huge win for us."
On her timeout speech…
"I feel like I was pretty calm and trying to get them situated to where they could make a comeback. I think there was maybe a time out before that that I got after them pretty good about just doing little things right, because they were really making some silly mistakes, you know, driving on top of each other, not continuing to run the offense, not communicating on defense… Just little things like that. They're just so much better than that, and I've got to get their attention sometimes and really challenge them. And that's what I love about this team, is I can challenge every single one of them, and they look me right in the eyes, and they say, 'Yes coach,' and they try to go get it done. So, I love the way they responded, and I thought that they really responded by executing that inbounds play at that time."
#3 Junior Jasmine Shavers
On what helps her ability to excel in the fourth quarter…
"It starts with my teammates telling me, 'Jazz, it's time for you to step up. We need you.' Just really feeding off my teammate's energy is huge for me. I know that they need me to be a leader in the fourth, especially in games like tonight, those close games. It was really all of us coming together, even the players on the bench. The spark of energy that we had in the fourth is something that we needed to start the game with, but in the end, it got us this win. It's not just me out there. It's the other four players out there that are bringing me energy, and I'm able to feed off that and finish strong in the fourth quarter."
On what Coach Gerlich said to the team in the crucial timeout…
"Coach [Gerlich] drew up an amazing play and basically just told me to go out there and hit the shot, and that's what I did. I think that's what started the run and the spark of energy in us. We just never looked back after that three. Coach [Gerlich] said a few words in the huddle, and we took it and went with it. It was words of need like, 'Come on, let's finish this strong. Let's round this game out.'Â And we did exactly that."
#20 Junior Bailey Maupin
On the chemistry between her and Sara [Sanogo] in the fourth quarter…
"Every single game that she's played here, she's played amazingly. She's super athletic, she's super long, she can rebound the ball. She honestly saves us on a lot of plays by blocking shots or by getting offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds. The chemistry that we have comes from hours of practice that we put in every single day and each game that we play, that's just going to continue to grow and I'm really excited about that."
On what it meant to get a big win on Coach Gerlich's birthday…
"Well, I mean we don't want her to have a bad day. We want her to have a good birthday, so we had to get her the win. A win like this is a super huge thing, it helps us kick off our season early. It kind of shows us where we're at and the growth that needs to happen."
