No. 7 Lady Raiders defeat No. 10 Villanova in Round of 64

Friday, March 20

Baton Rouge, La.

7:30 PM CT

Texas Tech Athletics

26-7,12-6Big 12

No. 10 Villanova

25-8,16-4Big East

Villanova

Texas Tech

No. 7 Lady Raiders defeat No. 10 Villanova in Round of 64

March 20, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Tournament Central Final Stats (PDF)Highlights Postgame Quotes (PDF)

By: Casey Montalvo

BATON ROUGE, La. – Behind a dominant performance from Denae Fritz, the No. 7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders earned their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2005 after defeating the No. 10 Villanova Wildcats, 57-52, on Friday night at the Maravich Assembly Center.

"Really proud of our kids for staying together, for stepping up and making really big plays when we needed them," head coach Krista Gerlich said. "I thought that the whole first half, it was just both teams trying to figure out what the other team was doing to them and how to fight through the physicality… And then I thought that in the second half we got our footing under us a little bit in the fourth quarter, and the kids really stepped up to the challenge and had some really big plays. We hit some big shots. We got on the floor first after several loose balls and rebounded it well. So super proud of these kids, and first win in the NCAA tournament in 21 years for the Lady Raider basketball program, and we're super thrilled to have accomplished that."

The Lady Raiders (26-7) were led in scoring by Bailey Maupin, who totaled 17 points and went 7-for-7 at the free throw line for her team-best 28th double-figure scoring game of the season. Fritz added 13 points on 83.3 percent shooting from the field (5-for-6) and 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc (.750) against Villanova (25-8). Fritz added three rebounds and a team-leading three steals and two blocks in the game.

Texas Tech shot 43.9 percent from the field (18-for-41) and 46.7 percent from the three-point line (7-for-15). Going 14-for-15 at the charity stripe (.933), the Lady Raiders added 18 bench points and added 21 points off of turnovers after forcing 18 on the night.

Fritz hit a triple to begin the scoring in the game, but Villanova answered with one of its own right after. Fritz scored a quick layup for a 5-3 lead. It was short-lived as the Wildcats hit two-straight threes for a 9-5 advantage. Jalynn Bristow responded with a 3-pointer to cut the Lady Raider deficit to one. Villanova went up 11-8 before Tech went on a 5-0 run thanks to Snudda Collins scoring a three and a mid-range jumper. The Wildcats hit another three to end the quarter, leading by a 14-13 score.

Jada Malone opened the second period with a layup, then the Wildcats made a layup a minute later. Sidney Love scored two free throws to take a 17-16 lead with 7:23 left. Villanova answered with a 4-0 run before Malone made two more free throws for Tech. The Wildcats led 22-19 with a second-chance layup at 4:43, but the Lady Raiders got a three from Fritz and a jumper from Gemma Núñez to tie things at 24-24. Villanova made one more jumper before Maupin hit two clutch free throws to even things at 26-all at the end of the first half.

Villanova and Tech both scored a layup to begin the third quarter. The Wildcats went on a 5-0 run and held the Lady Raiders scoreless for three minutes until Maupin scored a layup to make it 33-30 before the media timeout. Villanova added a free throw for a four-point lead before Maupin converted a successful and-one opportunity. The Wildcats went up by three with two more free throws, but Maupin answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer to tie it at 36-36 with 3:08 left. Collins connected with a jumper to make it 38-36 in Tech's favor before Villanova scored five of the next seven points to lead 41-40 after three.

The Lady Raiders retook the momentum to start the fourth quarter, getting buckets from Fritz, Malone and Núñez for the 6-0 run to force a Villanova timeout with the 46-41 advantage. The Wildcats stopped the run after the timeout with two free throws. Tech added four more points on a free throw from Collins and a three by Fritz. Villanova went on a 4-0 to get within three, but Maupin hit a clutch triple with 2:46 left to increase the lead. The Lady Raiders took a 55-49 lead when Maupin connected with two free throws, but Villanova scored a three with 15 seconds left to make it 55-52. Maupin iced the game with two more free throws as Tech would win it by a 57-52 score.

Up next, the Lady Raiders take on the No. 2 LSU Tigers at 2 p.m. on ABC for a spot in the Sweep 16.