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Peat records 700 career rebounds in victory over Gonzaga
November 29, 2024 | Women's Basketball
SAINT THOMAS, V.I. – Graduate senior Maya Peat hit a major milestone after grabbing her 700th career rebound as the Texas Tech Lady Raiders defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 67-49, on Friday night at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
Tech (7-1) picked up its first win at the Paradise Jam tournament thanks to contributions from all 15 players on the team. Led by Jordyn Merritt, the senior from Plano, Texas shot 5-for-7 from the field (.714) for a season high of 14 points, while also nailing a season-best two 3-pointers against Gonzaga (4-4). Merritt made the first four shots she put up, including going 3-for-3 in the first quarter with eight points, as she totaled a steal, block and two rebounds in the game.
Junior Jasmine Shavers put up 12 points, all in the second half of the game, on 5-for-9 from the field (.555). In the third quarter, Shavers went a perfect 4-for-4 with nine points to help propel the Lady Raiders ahead of the Bulldogs. In addition, she led the team with a career high of five steals on the night. Junior Bailey Maupin recorded 10 points and shot 55.5 percent from the field, while also picking up a steal and two assists.
Junior Adlee Blacklock provided a spark from the 3-point line after shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-6) for a nine-point outing. Blacklock, along with Kilah Freelon and Loghan Johnson, led the Lady Raiders with five rebounds each. Of Freelon's five boards, four of them came on the offensive side making it the second game in a row she totaled three or more offensive rebounds. Johnson added six points of her own and junior Denae Fritz led the way with three assists. Freshman Bird Martin came in with a couple minutes left and nailed a 3-pointer to secure her first career points as a Lady Raider.
As a team, the Lady Raiders had their best shooting game of the season after going 26-for-46 from the field (.464) and scored eight 3-pointers for the second time this season. In the first quarter, Tech was able to shoot 72.7 percent from the field to take a 20-15 lead. The Lady Raiders held Gonzaga to 20 points below their season average in points, while forcing 24 turnovers (seven more than their average) and adding 15 steals in the game.
Gonzaga scored first in the game, but Merritt followed with a 3-pointer. Then, the Zags hit one of their own to lead, 5-3. Tech tied the game at 5-all when Maupin made a jumper. Gonzaga would lead again after making a free throw, but then Tech answered with a 9-0 run thanks to buckets from Jada Wynn, Merritt and Maupin for a 14-6 advantage going into the media timeout. The Zags responded with a 7-0 run to cut the Tech lead to five going into quarter two.
Gonzaga kept the momentum as the Zags scored a three to begin the second period. Merritt followed this up with her fourth (of four) field goal in the game thanks to an offensive board from Sarengbe Sanogo. Both teams wouldn't score for more than three minutes until Johnson pulled down a rebound and made a fastbreak layup for the 24-18 advantage. Right before the media timeout, Freelon forced a turnover which helped the Lady Raiders get a couple of free throws later from Peat. Gonzaga then made a layup at the last second as Tech led 26-20 after the first half.
The Lady Raiders opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run, highlighted by points from Johnson, Merritt and Maupin. Fritz was able to grab a steal from the Zags, then stifling defense by the Gonzaga bench forced them to take a timeout at the 6:19 mark. Chaos ensued – all in Tech's favor – when went on a 9-2 run right after, in which Shavers scored seven of those points. Tech closed out the quarter with a 3-pointer from Blacklock and another midrange jumper from Maupin to lead 48-31.
Once again, Maupin scored a jumper to increase the Lady Raider advantage to 19. Gonzaga would go on a 5-2 run over the next three minutes to make it 52-36 heading into the media timeout. Gonzaga answered with a 3-pointer, but Shavers hit one right after. Then, Merritt connected with two free throws, before the Bulldogs scored the next three points. Blacklock would follow with her third three of the game to spark a 5-0 run. With 1:21 left, freshman Martin scored a 3-pointer for her first career points. Then, Kelly Mora made a jumper thanks to a steal from Achol Magot right before as the Lady Raiders handed Gonzaga a loss, 67-49.
Up next, Texas Tech faces the Missouri State Lady Bears tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. CT in the final game of the Paradise Jam tournament.
