Lady Raiders take down SFA for ninth win of the season

Tuesday, December 3

Lubbock, Texas

6:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

9-1,0-0Big 12

SFA

7-1,0-0Southland

SFA

Texas Tech

Lady Raiders take down SFA for ninth win of the season

December 03, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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By: Casey Montalvo

LUBBOCK, Texas – Both Kilah Freelon and Jordyn Merritt were on double-double watch as the Texas Tech Lady Raiders moved to 9-1 on the season with a victory over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks, 78-68, on Tuesday evening at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Merritt dominated the entire game against SFA (7-1), going 6-for-9 from the field (.667) with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a career high of five steals. In the second half alone, Merritt scored 10 points, shot 5-for-7 from the field (.714) and totaled seven rebounds, three assists, a block and four steals.

Freelon almost had a double-double after scoring seven points and adding a season-best 11 rebounds, with a career-high of nine offensive boards. She also had a block and a season-high of three assists against the Ladyjacks. Junior Jasmine Shavers led the team with 15 points on the night as she also tallied two assists and a steal.

Both Adlee Blacklock and Jada Wynn recorded three 3-pointers each as Blacklock had 13 points and Wynn had nine. In addition freshman Bird Martin, after getting her first career points last Saturday, went 2-for-4 from three for a career-high of six points. The Lady Raiders totaled a season-high of 42 rebounds with 19 offensive rebounds. Shooting 46.7 percent from the field (28-for-60), Texas Tech would have their second-best 3-point game of the year with 10 made from behind the arc.

Texas Tech began the game on an 11-2 run thanks to four steals and buckets from Shavers, Merritt and Bailey Maupin – with Shavers scoring seven points heading into the media timeout. The Ladyjacks responded by getting a layup and 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven. Then, a few free throws and a three later, SFA was just four points behind. Tech would score one more free throw to lead 17-12 after one.

Wynn opened the second quarter by nailing two 3-pointers to increase the lead to 23-12. SFA scored the next three points, then Shavers hit a jumper in response. Denae Fritz and Blacklock followed with baskets of their own, then the Ladyjacks made a couple of free throws. Blacklock answered with another 3-pointer, before Martin hit one herself. Both teams closed out the period with two free throws each with the Lady Raiders holding the 37-25 advantage.

The Ladyjacks scored the first seven points of the third quarter to make it 37-32. But, the Lady Raiders answered with an 8-0 run thanks to a layup from Sarengbe Sanogo and back-to-back 3-pointers from Wynn and Shavers. After that, Loghan Johnson grabbed a steal and made a layup off of it as Tech led 47-33. Then, Blacklock scored two consecutive threes, before Merritt recorded a block, steal and bucket all within 15 seconds of play. Merritt added two more points with a layup, followed by Martin's second 3-pointer as Tech held the 62-45 advantage at the end of the third.

Stephen F. Austin went on an 8-2 run to open the final quarter. However, Maupin and Merritt answered with back-to-back layups. Then, SFA hit another 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 10. Freelon and Shavers both scored the next six points for the Lady Raiders before SFA recorded the next five to stay in it. Maupin was able to seal the deal, though, when she made four free throws at the end of the game to help Tech win it by a 78-68 score.

Up next, the Lady Raiders travel to Dallas, Texas to face SMU on Wednesday, December 11 at 7 p.m.

Quoteables
Head Coach Krista Gerlich
Opening statement…
"Four games in six days against really formidable opponents… Super proud of our kids for coming away with that win tonight. We knew coming into this it was going to be a difficult matchup for us because SFA is a good basketball team. Coach Bishop does a great job with them and you know they're very experienced. They play in the NCAA Tournament because they win their league and we just knew they were going be very tough, especially with us coming off of the trip that we just came off of. With one day of prep, we traveled all day long Sunday, one day of prep on Monday, and then played tonight, So, a lot of fatigue. I knew that SFA wouldn't go away… We definitely lost mental focus in the fourth quarter. But I do think for the most part, for the first three quarters, we played pretty good basketball. It was really good to see the ball go in the basket for us from the 3-point line. Clearly turnovers is a sign of fatigue tonight for sure, but overall I am really proud of our kids for getting that win."

On having a set lineup…
"I mean, I don't want to have one. I want there to be internal competition. I want our kids to know that they have to perform to be able to earn that spot. I want them to see our depth, and that on any given night, it can be somebody else. So, I want there to continue to be kids that really compete for a position, whether that's starting or not, and for playing time. Then, I also want kids to compete to keep it as well. You know, I think it's great for us."

Graduate #12 Jordyn Merritt
On the team's intensity…
"I think our intensity is something that has for sure carried us. Whether it's the highs or lows, we always find a way to come together, and it was most likely on the defensive end just getting stops. We talk a lot about building bricks and using that as motivation to play both sides of the ball, get a stop, then go down and execute. Also, our togetherness, it's been tough with the travel and the games that are back-to-back. But staying together, staying united in those situations, has brought us very far."

Junior #2 Kilah Freelon
On what the team learned from their trip to the Virgin Islands…
"Well, I felt that a lot of that trip was for us to build our togetherness and to bring our confidence up, not just individually but together. It was definitely a time for us to challenge ourselves and be able to push through hard because playing three games in three days is a challenge. But being able to mentally lock in and mentally stay focused, and physically being able to push through the hard is what kept us going, and it's something we had to go through today. I felt like that's mainly what's keeping us together."