Women's basketball: Texas Tech eyes second Big 12 sweep with road test at No. 20 Texas
Coming off its first Big 12 Conference sweep of the season, the Texas Tech women's basketball team will go for another — one that would carry significant weight.
The Lady Raiders travel to Austin for a Wednesday matchup against Texas, which moved up to No. 20 in the latest Associated Press rankings. The Longhorns exited the poll for a week following the 68-64 loss to Tech on Jan. 18 but have since won five in a row.
Lady Raiders coach Krista Gerlich said her squad will have to play another well-executed game to pull off the first sweep of UT in 10 years.
"It's an exciting time. It's what the rivalry's all about," Gerlich said Tuesday. "They're obviously playing some really good basketball since we last played them. They're on a roll. … I know that they'll have a good crowd there. The fact that we beat them last time, I'm sure that they'll have a little bit more of a chip on their shoulders. So, yeah, it's gonna be an intense game, but I think our kids embrace that."
Gerlich pointed to the Longhorns' increased intensity on defense as a catalyst during their winning streak. UT (18-6 overall, 9-2 conference) has forced 18 or more turnovers in four of the five games, including 21 in a 68-65 win at Kansas on Saturday.
DeYona Gaston led the Longhorns with a season-high 24 points on 12 of 20 shooting. She's averaged 14.8 points since tallying nine against Tech in the first meeting.
"I think she's being more assertive," Gerlich said of Gaston’s improvement. "She's being more physical. She's scoring in a variety of ways. I've seen her scoring from the perimeter more now, where I think in the past she's scored mostly in the paint. I think she's just kind of rising up. It's February, so she's playing some of her best basketball right now."
The Lady Raiders (16-7, 4-6) made 22 of 30 free throws against UT, which shot 4 of 6. Gerlich hopes to replicate the edge at the charity stripe against the aggressive Longhorns. Tech leading scorer Bre'Amber Scott was a beneficiary, hitting 10 of 14 attempts en route to a game-high 28 points.
"We're a really good free-throw shooting team, and we want to get to the line," Gerlich said. "That's part of our game plan almost every game, so we want to really make sure that we're aggressive and that we attack them. When they run pressure man (defense) like that, you've got to attack that pressure with pressure."
The Lady Raiders snapped their three-game losing streak with Sunday's 78-68 home win over Kansas State. Tech had 17 assists, its most in the past six games. That distribution allowed four Lady Raiders to reach at least 16 points.
"I do think that you're seeing some kids learning how to play together better," Gerlich said. "I think that we are moving the ball better offensively."
Wednesday will be Tech's first time playing at the Moody Center, where UT is 11-1. The Longhorns have won nine consecutive at home, but Gerlich expects her team to be up for the challenge.
"Our kids know that it's gonna be a battle," Gerlich said. "They know that we're gonna have to come in and we're gonna have to fight through a lot of physicality. … I just think they know what it entails, and they know that playing Texas is never a gimme, by any means."
Texas Tech at No. 20 Texas
Big 12 women's basketball
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Moody Center, Austin
Records: Texas Tech 16-7, 4-6; Texas 18-6, 9-2
Radio: 107.7 FM
TV/live stream: Longhorn Network/ESPN+
Big 12 standings
School Conference, Overall
Texas 9-2, 18-6
Oklahoma 8-3, 18-4
Baylor 7-3, 16-6
Iowa State 7-4, 15-6
Oklahoma State 6-5, 16-7
West Virginia 5-5, 14-7
Kansas 4-6, 14-7
Texas Tech 4-6, 16-7
Kansas State 3-8, 14-10
TCU 0-11, 6-16
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Women's basketball preview: Texas Tech faces Texas in Austin
