Women's basketball: Texas Tech gets another shot at guard-driven West Virginia

Coming off its longest game of the season, the Texas Tech women's basketball team is ready for its fight to pay off in the form of wins.

The Lady Raiders clawed back at the end of regulation and overcame an eight-point deficit in the first extra period of Saturday's 92-80 triple-overtime loss to Oklahoma State. Tech coach Krista Gerlich appreciates the effort and wants to focus on positive takeaways, but she acknowledged the frustration of the team's current struggles.

The Lady Raiders (16-11 overall, 4-10 conference) have lost four in a row heading into Wednesday's Big 12 Conference home matchup against West Virginia.

"I think we have to start better," Gerlich said Tuesday. "We keep getting ourselves in a hole, and we're using a lot of energy to get out of that hole. I do know that our kids believe that they can come back, but there's some mental errors that we're making early. … We have to have an attack mindset from the get-go and get stops on defense.

"I'm proud of our kids' effort, and they know that they can come back, I just need them to quit relying on that comeback."

Gerlich said there's still plenty to play for as the conference tournament nears. She hopes the team can find a rhythm against the defensive-minded Mountaineers, who won the first meeting 67-57 in Morgantown, W.Va.

WVU (16-9, 7-7) is second in the Big 12 with 60.9 points allowed per game. Tech shot 38.7% with 20 turnovers in the road loss Jan. 21.

"They've got a good presence on the ball because their guards are really quick and athletic," Gerlich said, "and they don't overhelp too much. It's difficult to get by them one-on-one on the dribble. I think the last time we played them, we didn't execute well early. We didn't attack as well as we needed to."

As much praise as the Mountaineers guards got for their defense, Ja'Naiya Quinerly and Madisen Smith power the offense, too. Quinerly, who scored 16 against Tech, is tied for eighth in the conference at 14.4 points per game and shoots 42.8%.

Smith averages 2.5 made 3-pointers at a 34.3% clip — both third-best in the Big 12. She scored 17 points against the Lady Raiders the first matchup.

"If they can get into the paint, they make you pay," Gerlich said of the WVU duo. "Quinerly does a fantastic job of pace when she has the ball in her hands. … Madisen's just doing a really good job of shooting the 3-ball. She's really fast (and) you've got to protect the drive, but she wants to shoot the 3-ball. …They're both really difficult to guard. They're two of the best guards in the conference."

Gerlich said the team is dealing with the usual late-season bumps and bruises, although she expects a full arsenal against WVU. Freshman guard Jasmine Shavers missed Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. Bre'Amber Scott aggravated an injury against OSU and was seen with a heating pad on her left knee in between playing time. Bryn Gerlich also appeared to tweak a foot Saturday but was in the game late.

Krista Gerlich said Katie Ferrell hurt herself during the contest as well.

"We've got several that are pretty banged up," Gerlich said. "(Shavers) is day-to-day. I expect her to be in practice and to just see what she can push through. Bre'Amber is also day-to-day, although she's doing well. … I think (Ferrell), Bryn and Bre all experienced some type of injury during that lengthy game that we played the other night. But they're so tough and they understand the urgency that they have to play with right now. They understand that it's the end of their careers."

West Virginia at Texas Tech

Big 12 women's basketball

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: United Supermarkets Arena

Records: West Virginia 16-9, 7-7; Texas Tech 16-11, 4-10

Radio: 107.7 FM

Live stream: ESPN+

Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia and @annierice_photo on Twitter for live updates, with postgame analysis and images at lubbockonline.com.

Big 12 standings

School Conference, Overall

Texas 12-3, 21-7

Oklahoma 12-3, 22-4

Iowa State 9-5, 17-7

Oklahoma State 9-5, 19-7

West Virginia 7-7, 16-9

Baylor 7-7, 16-10

Kansas 6-8, 16-9

Texas Tech 4-10, 16-11

Kansas State 4-10, 15-12

TCU 1-13, 7-18

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Women's basketball preview: West Virginia at Texas Tech