Ferrell, Scott power Tech past TCU

Wednesday, March 1

Lubbock, Texas

7 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

18-12,6-11Big 12

TCU

7-21,1-16Big 12

TCU

Texas Tech

March 01, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Presser Highlights

The Lady Raiders held the Horned Frogs to just 49 points in the wire-to-wire victory

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas – Powered by a 21-7 second quarter and another massive performance from The Big Kat, Katie Ferrell, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders cruised past TCU, 66-49 Wednesday night in the regular season home finale at United Supermarkets Arena.

In what was yet another typical 'Big Kat' performance, Ferrell recorded five points, five rebounds, six assists and three blocks for Texas Tech (18-12, 6-11 Big 12).

It was a night to remember for the senior, as she improved upon the most unique stat line in all of college basketball. Ferrell's third and final rejection, an emphatic swat of TCUs (7-21, 1-16 Big 12) Tomi Taiwo was her 100th of her illustrious career.

Ferrell also reached a rebounding milestone Wednesday, as she pulled in her 800th career rebound to remain the only active player at the D-I level with 600 points, 800 rebounds, 500 assists and 100 blocked shots.

Guard Bre'Amber Scott lead the way yet again for the Lady Raiders scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds. The Big 12 Player of the Year candidate scored was 4-of-9 from 3-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.

As a team, Tech made 14-of-15 from the line, including all 12 attempts in the second half.

After leading 16-11 at the end of one play, Tech used the aforementioned 21-7 run to take a 37-18 lead into the break. The 18 first half points allowed were the fewest Tech has allowed in a game since UIW scored just 15 points back on Dec. 4.

Once trailing 44-23 with five minutes to play in the third quarter, TCU used a 24-14 run to pull to within 58-47 with 3:03 to play, but Tech used a jumper from guard Rhyle McKinney to score eight of the final 10 points.

The Lady Raiders turned 16 Horned Frog turnovers into 22 points, while the Tech bench outscored its counterparts 27-6.

Seven Lady Raiders scored five or more, including freshman Bailey Maupin and post Jazmaine Lewis. Both Maupin and Lewis finished with 10.

After going off for 33 in the game in Forth Worth, Tech held Taiwo to just nine points on 4-of-17 shooting. Forward Lucy Ibeh led the way for the Frogs, scoring 14 points on perfect 7-of-7 shooting.

By virtue of tonight's win and Kansas State's overtime loss in Norman, Tech has now clinched the No. 8 seed in next week's Big 12 Conference Championships. Tech will face the Wildcats next Thursday (Mar. 9) at 5:30 p.m.

COACH SPEAK (HC KRISTA GERLICH):
"I thought from the start, we had such a great energy about us. We played with a great pace, and we attacked them defensively which led to some really great stops early. And then I thought we settled in in the second quarter and really executed our offense really, really well which allowed us to grow the lead. So, I'm really proud. I thought these two kids [Kat and Bre] particularly put us on their back, and I just thought that that they played with a lot of heart with a lot of urgency. They knew it was their last game in the USA in front of our fans, and they did everything we asked them to do. But this was great win. I thought we used our depth really well and thought we had a lot of players play for a lot of minutes to contributed in a lot of ways. We are going to have to do that moving forward, as we get ready for the conference tournament."

Scott and Ferrell on playing for Lady Raider Nation:

Ferrell:
"It's been an honor to play in front of these fans and to play with my teammates. I love them to death. Then obviously to play with Coach again was it's just very humbling and a great experience and something I will cherish for the rest of my life.:

Scott:
"It was life changing. Honestly, it gave me so many opportunities and brought me so many opportunities. The whole fan base just continued to believe in us and has been so supportive from day one. Ever since I've been here. The staff here, they have just changed my life so much… more than y'all will ever know. So, I'm always grateful and appreciative for them and everything they have done for me."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• Tech held the Horned Frogs to just 0-of-7 shooting from distance in the first half and just 5-of-22 shooting for the game. TCU shot just 20-of-53 (37.7 percent) from the floor.
• On the flip side, Tech shot 22-of-49 (44.9 percent) for the game.
• In the 21-point second quarter, the Lady Raiders were a blistering 8-of-13 from the field, making 3-of-6 from distance.
• With the win tonight, Tech improves to 18-12 with one regular season game remaining. The win was also the Lady Raiders sixth conference win.
• If Tech is victorious on Saturday in Ames, it would be the first time since 2012-13 that a Lady Raider team has won more than 18 games. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the season down, Tech was 18-12 in 2019-20.
• With the 17-point win, Tech recorded its second 15+ point win in conference play this season. It's the first time the Lady Raiders have recorded multiple 15-point wins in Big 12 play since the 2019-20 season.
• Scott continues to shine in conference play, as the guard scored 18 points for the 12th time in conference play.
• She also recorded her 21st game with 10+ points and narrowly missed her 10th 20-point game.
• With her six makes tonight, Scott needs just two more to reach 150 made free throws for the year.
• The guard is also now just 28 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
• In addition to her 10 points, Maupin also added five rebounds and a career-best four assists in her 27 minutes of action.
• Guard Bryn Gerlich didn't play Wednesday night due to injury. It marks the first time Gerlich didn't start a game this season.
• Coming into tonight she was the lone Lady Raider to start every game.

UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders close the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday afternoon at Iowa State. Tip-off from Ames is set for 3 p.m.