Lady Raiders coach Krista Gerlich looking for consistency as Texas Tech hosts Sam Houston
Little went wrong for the Texas Tech women's basketball team Sunday, but coach Krista Gerlich wanted to see more from her group in the second half.
The Lady Raiders earned a 66-48 win over Incarnate Word, leading by as many as 28 early in the third quarter. But the Cardinals outscored Tech 33-26 after halftime. After scoring 15 first-half points, UIW bounced back to shoot 42.3% in the second half, including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
"Obviously a little disappointed with just the consistency of us continuing to defend …" Gerlich said postgame. "The second half is disturbing to me, just because I feel like we've got to learn how to defend people in the second half just as well as we do in the first half."
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Gerlich said there were "high defensive goals" the Lady Raiders didn't achieve Sunday, and she lamented the number of turnovers (18), which was third-most this season. Gerlich said the team will have to play much better when facing Sam Houston State at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday for "Education Day."
"They're starting to figure some things out," Gerlich said of her squad, "but consistency is something that we'll definitely have to have entering Big 12 play, for sure."
Tech (7-1) was won six games in a row, which includes a 72-67 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 25 in the Las Vegas Invitational. MTSU (5-2) downed then-No. 18 Louisville 67-49 on Sunday.
The Lady Raiders had their best first quarter of the season against UIW, building a 27-10 lead. Entering the game, opponents had outscored Tech 120-115 in the opening stanza. It was the third consecutive starting lineup of Rhyle McKinney, Jasmine Shavers, Bailey Maupin, Bre'Amber Scott and Bryn Gerlich — the tallest of the bunch at 6-foot.
Although Krista Gerlich said the rotations are becoming more "stable," she added the starters will be determined by matchups and quality of practice time. Gerlich mentioned Katie "Big Kat" Ferrell, a 6-1 Texas-Arlington transfer, will return from a hand injury "soon."
For now, the starting five have provided early jolts with their quickness.
"When we were in Las Vegas, that's what worked for us," Krista Gerlich said, "was a smaller lineup, just to get a better start. We've kind of tackled that, as you can see. But it's more about the start and being able to get our motors running and to get some good looks at the basket early, as long as we're not giving up a lot of baskets on the defensive end.
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"And then when our bigger kids can come in and really develop a post presence, I think that helps us tremendously."
Sam Houston (3-4) is coming off a 70-62 win at Florida A&M on Sunday. Chyna Allen, a 5-7 graduate transfer from Nicholls State, is the team's leading scorer at 16.3 points per game.
Tech will have the added backing of Lubbock-area elementary and middle-school students for its annual "Education Day." The Lady Raiders led by as many as 10 points in the first half before falling to then-No. 20 Georgia 66-56 in last year's iteration.
"It's always really fun getting to play in a loud atmosphere," Bryn Gerlich said Sunday. "That's a great homecourt advantage for us, especially it being against Sam Houston State, who's had a big win against TCU."
Sam Houston State at Texas Tech
Non-conference women's basketball
When: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday
Where: United Supermarkets Arena
Records: Sam Houston State 3-4; Texas Tech 7-1
Radio: 100.7 FM and 107.7 FM
Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia on Twitter for live updates, with postgame analysis at lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech women's basketball faces Sam Houston State on Education Day
