Lady Raiders primed for Saturday matinee vs. ISU

LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders return to action Saturday when the 13th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones visit United Supermarkets Arena for a 12:30 p.m. contest.
The game will be a doubleheader as the Texas Tech men's basketball program will face off with Mississippi State at 5 p.m.

Saturday's contest will be the second-to-last Saturday home game of the season for the Lady Raiders, and will be the final game of a two-game homestand. Tech hosted No. 11 Baylor on Wednesday night.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech (9-10, 2-6 Big 12) vs. No. 13 Iowa State (17-3, 6-2 Big 12)
DATE: January 29, 2022
LOCATION: Lubbock, Texas (United Supermarkets Arena)
TIME: 12:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
Trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders used a furious second half comeback to draw even with No. 11 Baylor with just over three minutes to play, before ultimately falling 88-80 in front of an electric crowd Wednesday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

In defeat, guard Bryn Gerlich poured in a career-high 22 points with seven assists, while senior All-American Vivian Gray continued her strong play as of late, pouring in 21 points. Gray hit both of her attempts from three, breaking an 0-for-13 stretch that dated back to the UNLV game on Dec. 12.

Texas Tech (9-10, 2-6 Big 12) trailed 29-14 after one and 51-35 with :54 seconds to play in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer from Rhyle McKinney sparked an 15-0 run that spanned both halves.One of the strongest stretches this season, the outburst trimmed the Baylor (14-4, 4-2 Big 12) lead to just 51-50 with 7:18 to play in the third.

Over the remaining stretch of the quarter, Tech was never able to pull in front, but the Baylor lead also never climbed above four. That remained true until the closing seconds of the third when a Sarah Andrews triple gave the visitors a 71-66 lead after three. In the fourth, Baylor took its largest lead (73-66) since the opening seconds of the third on a NaLyssa Smith layup with 9:25 to play, but the
Lady Raiders fought back, scoring 13 of the next 19 to tie the game at 79 all with 2:36 to play.

After a timeout, the Lady Raiders forced a missed jumper from Smith, but Caitlin Bickle was able to secure an offensive rebound. The forward hit a wide-open Andrews who nailed a triple that gave the Bears an 82-79 lead with 2:18 to play. The triple sparked the decisive 9-1 run that swung the game in the direction of the visitors. Smith finished with a game-high 23 points for the 11th-ranked Bears, while Andrews added 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

SCOUTING THE CLONES:
Iowa State enters Saturday's contest ranked No. 13 in the country. The Cyclones were selected as No. 10 overall in the first iteration of the NCAA Selection Committee Top-16 that was released earlier in the week. The Cyclones are 17-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12. Iowa State's two losses in Big 12 play were to Texas and Baylor. In the game against UT, ISU was without Ashley Joens. The 2021 Cheryl Miller Award (best SF), Joens is averaging 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The forward is shooting and impressive 94-of-106 (88.7 percent) and has nine 20+ point games. Iowa State returned to the win column on Wednesday with a 77-62 victory. In that game, the Cyclones hit 11 3-pointers. Joens scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Emily Ryan had 14 points and nine assists. Ryan is currently third in the nation in assists per game (6.7). Joens is one of players in the country averaging at least 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds a game, and is just 84 points away from Angie Welle's school record of 2,149.

HC KRISTA GERLICH:
"Iowa State is a matchup problem for us. They can really shoot the three and so you cannot help anywhere. They're so lethal from behind the arc so we're going to have to limit their ability to shoot the three. A lot like K-State where limited Lee's touches, we'll have to limit how many 3-point attempts they get. Our defense is going to be crucial. We cannot get into a track meet with them, and we need limit their catch-and-shoot threes. So that's going to be a matter of communicating especially in transition. They're solid defensively. They lead the nation in fewest fouls by a team. They don't foul, they play good position defense and they don't gamble. You really have to earn the points you put on the board so we're going to need to work hard together to score."

UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders have their mini bye week this week, and won't return to action until next Saturday (Feb. 5) when they travel to the Little Apple for a clash with Kansas State. Tip-off from Manhattan is set for 6:30 p.m.

Lady Raiders primed for Saturday matinee vs. ISU

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Players Mentioned

Bryn Gerlich

Vivian Gray

Rhyle McKinney