Fourth quarter surge pushes Baylor past Tech

Saturday, February 25

Waco, Texas

5 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

17-12,5-11Big 12

Baylor

18-10,9-7Big 12

Texas Tech

Baylor

Fourth quarter surge pushes Baylor past Tech

February 25, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Postgame Press Conference Highlights

The shorthanded Lady Raiders led 48-44 after 30 minutes before falling 71-61

By: Andrew Stern

WACO, Texas – Despite leading 48-44 after 30 minutes of play, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders fell to Baylor, 71-61 Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center.

In the fourth quarter, Texas Tech (17-12, 5-11 Big 12) was outscored 27-13.

Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half, Tech cut the Baylor (18-10, 9-7 Big 12) to just 10 at the break, setting the stage for a third quarter surge.

After the break, Tech opened with the first seven points, before outscoring the Bears 20-6 in the third quarter. In that strong period, the Lady Raiders held Baylor to 0-of-12 shooting from the field, as Baylor scored all six of its points at the free throw line.

The run gave the Lady Raiders a 48-44 advantage heading to the final period.

In the fourth, Baylor opened with the first five points and scored nine of the first 12 to take a 53-51 lead with 7:02 to play.

Tech used a Jasmine Shavers three to take their final lead of the game at 54-53, but Baylor scored the next seven points to take a 60-54 lead.

After Tech drew to within 62-58 with 2:58 to play, Baylor scored nine of the final 12 to hold on for a 71-61 win.

Freshman Kilah Freelon led the way for Tech, scoring a career-best 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, while Shavers added 10 points.

In the setback the Lady Raiders shot just 2-of-14 from 3-point range and 13-of-25 (52 percent) from the charity stripe.

Baylor was led by froward Caitlin Bickle who scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 32 minutes and 33 seconds of action. Bickle was +19 on the afternoon. Like Tech, Baylor placed just two in double figures, as freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 12 points and grabbed eight boards.

Battling foul trouble guards Bre'Amber Scott and Bryn Gerlich combined for just 10 points in just over 27 minutes of action.

Scott finished with seven points before fouling out in the fourth, while Gerlich added just three in a season-low nine minutes and 52 seconds of action. The OSU transfer (Gerlich) picked up her third and fourth fouls in the third quarter and did not play in the final 16 minutes of action.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• Dating back to the second quarter, Tech went on an 11-0 run Saturday. The Lady Raiders scored the final four points of the second and first seven of the third.
• After allowing 24 points in the paint in the first half, Baylor scored just 14 in the second half (all in the fourth quarter).
• Baylor outscored Tech from the line 17-13, despite shooting seven fewer attempts. The Bears were an impressive 17-of-18 and made their first 14 attempts.
• On the flip side, after making their first attempt from the line, Tech shot just 12-of-24.
• In the third period, the Lady Raiders were just 5-of-11.
• Tech was outscored 38-34 in the paint Saturday. The Lady Raiders are now 0-9 when a team reaches 35 paint points.
• Guard Katie Ferrell did her best with out two of her classmates Saturday. Ferrell scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists in 34 minutes and 18 seconds of action.
• The Lady Raiders fell to 9-3 today when Ferrell records three or more assists in a game.
• Shavers narrowly missed a double-double finishing with the aforementioned 10 points and eight rebounds. The eight rebounds were a team-high.

COACH SPEAK (HC KRISTA GERLICH):
"We had our chances to win the game, and our kids played really, really hard. We came out of the locker room at halftime and made some good adjustments to take the lead. We struggled to keep it. [Caitlin] Bickle makes a huge difference for them, so when she came back into the game, I thought she took over. We had to critical defensive breakdowns on her and she made us pay for it. Great players do that. She's done a great job of being 'the mother hen' for this group. I mean that in the best way possible. She's done a great job of leading them."

On the defensive effort in the third quarter:
"Our kids did a great job of understanding what we talked about at halftime. This was probably the best adjustment we've made in a game this season. We made them take more contested shots. Our defense really stepped up in the third quarter. It was nice to see that, especially with some young kids out there, because we were playing without some key players."

UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders return home for their final regular season home game on Wednesday night against TCU. Tip-off from United Supermarkets Arena is set for 7 p.m.