Lady Raiders aim to keep positive roll going on the road against Louisiana
Krista Gerlich learned that her team is tough.
After securing an 86-85 victory over Colorado on Thursday, the third-year Texas Tech women’s basketball coach believes it was not only a discovery but a huge moment of growth for her squad — which touts eight underclassmen, including three freshmen.
“I think the fact that they banded together, they figured out they they can get it done — they can do hard things,” Gerlich said Friday, ”I think that’s certainly going to help them down the stretch. But now it’s a matter of us starting out the games that way, fighting every possession and believing that we can win the entire ball game.”
The Lady Raiders get to see if all those things come true when they face off against Louisiana in a 4 p.m. Sunday road matchup to conclude their run of play in the preseason WNIT. It’s something Gerlich hopes her squad puts into practice very soon.
“I think that our kids have to understand that they’ve got to come out of the gates every time our of the locker room, every game, focus and they’ve got to compete,” said Gerlich, whose Lady Raiders come into the contest at 2-1 overall. ” It’s just about being gritty and tough. And I think we saw a lot of that agains tColorado in the second half.
“They’re definitely going to have to bring it. And we’ll see (Friday) in practice that they’re ready for that challenge.”
Texas Tech will have plenty of positives to highlight during film session, including five players finishing in double figures — led by sophomore Rhyle McKinney, who ended the Colorado win with 20 points. Freshman Bailey Maupin (20 points), Bre’Amber Scott (14 points), Jazmaine Lewis (11 points) and Bryn Gerlich (10 points) rounded out the scorers.
Scott is the notable out of the quintet, earning her first start of the season and playing in her first game since Feb. 9 against Texas. The senior guard, who underwent foot surgery last spring, looked to be in good form when it came to driving to the basket.
Scott had an unusual stat line in that most of her points came from the free-throw line, where she made 11-of-14 attempts to pair wit ha 1-for-6 performance from the field.
“I really feel like Bre’Scott set the tone for us when she came out and was super aggressive to begin the game,” Krista Gerlich said. ”And then I think everybody saw that success and continued to be that.”
The Lady Raiders certainly did, finishing 36-for-42 to tie a program record for free throws made in a single game.
But, Krista Gerlich is hoping her squad does not let the bliss of the victory seep into their minds too much because a daunting task lies ahead in the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-3) — who are looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
”I think our kids will be great about it,” the Lady Raiders coach said. “We’re still early in the season. We’ve played three games and that’s it. So, we’ve got a lot to prove. And this game is about us and each game in front of us is about us and getting better.”
Louisiana is coming off a 70-41 loss to Jackson State, who also topped the Lady Raiders earlier in the week as part of the preseason WNIT.
Tamera Johnson is averaging 10.8 points, along with 6.5 rebounds, to lead Louisiana on the offensive end. Lanay Wheaton (7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds) and Destiny Rice (7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds) are other scorers for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
“I think they understand that we have a big challenge ahead of us,” Krista Gerlich said of her players, “just because it’s on the road. They’re very well coached and play gritty and tough. So we’ll have to come in and they’re going to try and protect their home court.”
Injury update
Katie Ferrell, who was seen with an arm sling in the Thursday win over Colorado, is expected to be out for three to four weeks, according to Krista Gerlich.
The 6-1 transfer forward from UT-Arlington injured her hand and underwent surgery with the prognosis of being back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
“We’re hopeful that it’ll be closer to three weeks than the four weeks,” Krista Gerlich said. ”But, it should be a pretty quick turnaround. So we’re very grateful for that.”
TEXAS TECH AT LOUISIANA
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Cajundome, Lafayette, La.
Records: Texas Tech 2-1. Louisiana 1-3
Radio: FM 107.7
Online stream: ESPN+
Fact fact(s): In its victory over Colorado on Thursday, Texas Tech made 36-of-41 shots from the free-throw line, tying the school record for free throws made in a game. The mark was set against Houston back in 2010. ... In the Thursday win, Bre’Amber Scott earned the start — marking the first game she played since Feb. 9 against Texas. She missed the final eight games of the 2021-22 season.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech Lady Raiders aim to keep positive roll going on the road against Louisiana in women’s college basketball
