Second Half surge comes up short

Wednesday, February 23

Lubbock, Texas

7:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

10-16,3-12Big 12

West Virginia

12-13,5-10Big 12

West Virginia

Texas Tech

February 23, 2022 | Women's Basketball

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The Lady Raiders cut a once 20-point WVU lead to just three before falling

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech Lady Raiders cut a 20-point West Virginia lead to just three points with 4:06 to play, but ultimately came up short Wednesday, falling 73-62 Wednesday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Lady Raiders (10-16, 3-12 Big 12) were led by Vivian Gray, who scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting. With the 24-point performance, Gray secured her 12th 20-point performance of the season and her sixth straight.

Guard Bryn Gerlich reached double-figures for the third consecutive home game and second straight contest overall, while Taylah Thomas was three points shy of another double-double. Gerlich finished with 10 points, while Thomas scored seven and hauled in 10 boards, her 11th game with at least 10 rebounds this season.

West Virginia (12-13, 5-10 Big 12) placed four in double figures led by Madisen Smith, who finished with 21. Smith played all 40 minutes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After the Mountaineers struck for the game's opening basket, back-to-back buckets from Gray and Gerlich gave Texas Tech its lone lead of the night, at 5-2.

WVU would respond, scoring the next 12 points to take a 14-5 lead with 4:53 to play in the opening quarter.

Needing to stop the momentum, Tech used another jumper from Gray to jumpstart a 5-0 run that cut the WVU lead to 14-10 with 3:01 to play.

WVU regained momentum, using back-to-back buckets to counter with a 5-0 run ,that extend the four point lead to nine.

Over the final two minutes of the period, the two teams traded punches, as the Mountaineers took a 23-14 lead into the second.

West Virginia continued its hot start from the field in the second quarter, as the visitors opened the period on a 12-4 run to open a 35-18 lead with 4:46 to play.

A Gray bucket with 2:28 to play in the half closed the WVU lead to 35-20, but WVU used four quick points to take its largest lead of the first half, 39-21.

Tech did find a little momentum when Ella Tofaeono hit an and-one that cut the Mountaineer advantage to 39-24 at the break. Tofaeono scored all seven of her points in the second and ended the period with seven of Tech's 10 points.

After WVU opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run to take a game high 46-26 lead, the Lady Raiders began to mount the comeback effort.

A Thomas layup at the 7:06 mark, sparked a 7-2 run that cut the WVU lead back to the halftime margin of 15.

WVU answered with a 3-pointer to take a 51-33 lead with 2:51 remaining in the third, but Tech closed the period scoring nine of the final 13 points to draw to within 55-42 after three. The run was capped by a Rhyle McKinney 3-pointer.

In the fourth, WVU scored the first four points to take a 59-42 lead with 7:46 to play.

Trying to claw back into it, Tech used a 3-pointer from Hightower to get back to within 59-45.

After a loose ball foul on the Mountaineers gave Texas Tech possession back, Gray hit a mid-range jumper the brought her side to within 59-47 with 6:52 to play.

WVU was called for travel on its next possession, allowing Gray to hit another jumper the cut the once 20-point WVU lead in half (59-49).

Gerlich secured a rebound on WVU's next offensive sequence and was fouled. The foul, was WVU's fifth of the quarter, and sent the junior to line, where she made both.

After another WVU possession ended in a turnover, Gerlich capped Tech's 12-0 run with a 3-pointer. The shot cut WVU's lead to just 59-54 with 4:58 to play.

WVU missed a 3-pointer on its next possession, setting the Lady Raiders up with an opportunity to cut the deficit to just one possession. Gray and Lady Raiders did just that. The shot brought Texas Tech to within 59-56 with 4:06 to play.

Facing a scoring drought of nearly four minutes, WVU hit its most important shot of the night, when Smith nailed a 3-pointer from between the top of the arc. The shot extended WVU's lead to 62-56, and ultimately sparked a 6-0 run that gave the visitors a comfortable 65-56 lead with 3:04 to play.

Powered by some strong shooting at the line, Tech was able to cut the deficit back down to 65-60 with 2:23 to play, but WVU scored the next six points and eight of the final 10 to hold on for a 73-62 victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• Gray needs just three more points to reach 2,500 for her entire career (includes D-II). The fifth-year senior reached 2,000 points last week (Feb. 16) at Oklahoma.
• Over the six-game stretch Gray has scored 158 total points (26.3/game).
• Tech was hurt by its 23 turnovers, and WVU's 15 offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers turned the turnovers into 28 points and had 18 points off the 15 o-boards.
• Gerlich has scored 83 total points in eight conference home games (10.4/game).
• For the third consecutive game, the Lady Raider did shoot well from the line. Tech was 17-of-21 (81 percent).
• Tech has now trailed at the half in 13 of 16 losses this season. The Lady Raiders are 0-13 when trailing the half this season, and are just 2-26 under Gerlich when trailing after 20 minutes. .
• The Lady Raiders have lost five straight at home and are just 1-7 at home in Big 12 play.

COACH SPEAK (HC KRISTA GERLICH):
"We didn't do a good job of coming out ready to play. West Virginia threw the first punch and we had to try and catch up the entire game. I'm proud of our girls for the way they responded after halftime, and I thought we fought hard, particularly in the fourth quarter. But we cannot dig ourselves the type of hole we did in the first half and win. And then we cannot turn the basketball over for points. We continued to work on it the last two days. Second chance opportunities also really hurt us tonight. We're undersized but we've been undersized all year. We need to continue to rebound the basketball and fight. I think the world of our team, but tonight I don't think we started the game with the amount of fight that we finished it with. We just dug ourselves too big of a hole."

ON GRAY:
"Vivian is an All-American for a reason. She puts up great numbers and fights through a lot of contact to score the basketball. I think she's playing her best basketball right now and is playing with great focus and a great mindsight. She's a tremendous player and we're lucky to have her on our team."

UP NEXT:
Tech is set to travel to Iowa to face No. 9 Iowa State. Tip-off from Ames is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. The matchup with the Cyclones marks the 10th time Tech will face a ranked opponent.