Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
20-15,6-12Big 12
Arkansas
24-12,7-9SEC
Tech falls in Round Three of WNIT
March 25, 2023 | Women's Basketball
The Lady Raiders finish the year 20-15
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Despite going on a 32-13 run to take a five point first half lead, and 28 points from Arkansas native Bre'Amber Scott, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders fell to the University of Arkansas 71-66 Friday night at Bud Walton Arena in the third round of the 2023 WNIT.
Trailing 15-0 just five minutes into the game, Texas Tech (20-15) used a basket from freshman Bailey Maupin to break the ice.
The basket from Maupin proved to be a bit of spark, as Tech scored 12 of the final 15 points of the first quarter to pull to within 18-12 after 10 minutes of action.
In the second quarter, Tech used a driving layup from Scott and a pair of free throws from forward Ella Tofaeono to pull to within 18-16 with 7:03 to play in the second.
After Arkansas (24-12) answered with a Chrissy Carr triple to pull back ahead by five (21-16), Tech scored the next 10 to force a Razorback timeout.
The run was sparked by five points each from Scott and classmate Katie Ferrell. In her final appearance in a Lady Raider uniform, the Big Kat finished with 12 points, three rebounds and an assist.
After a timeout, Arkansas turned to guard Makayla Daniels, who scored five of the next eight points to give the Hogs a 28-26 lead with 22 ticks to play in the first half. Daniels finished the game with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting. The guard added three triples and was an impressive 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
On the final possession of the half, freshman Kilah Freelon scored her lone two points of the ballgame on a jumper as time expired in the half. The bucket tied the game at 28-all heading to the half.
Following the break, Tech scored the first four points of the third quarter, to take a 32-28 lead with just under 19 minutes to go in the ballgame.
As they did all night, Arkansas found a way to answer, using a triple from guard Sarah Spencer to cap an 8-3 run that gave the home team a 36-35 advantage with 6:14 to play in the third.
Behind four free throws from Scott, the Lady Raiders quickly raced back in front 39-36, but Aransas used a jumper to kickstart an 11-0 run that culminated with three points from Jersey Wolfenbarger.
The outburst gave the Hogs a 47-39 lead with 25 seconds to go in the quarter.
Similar to the second quarter, Tech used a buzzer beating three, this time from guard Bryn Gerlich, to pull to within 47-42 heading to the fourth. Also playing her final game as a Lady Raider, Gerlich scored nine points and had three rebounds.
In the fourth, Tech used a jumper from sophomore Saga Ukkonen and a triple from Scott to close a 10-2 run that cut the Arkansas lead to 49-47 with 8:26 to play. Ukkonen ended the final game of her sophomore year with five points.
Arkansas regained the momentum shortly after the Scott triple, scoring the next six points to take a 55-47 lead with 7:16 to play.
The Lady Raiders used a pair of Scott free throws and a banked-in triple from Gerlich to pull to within 56-54, but Arkansas used a pair of clutch Carr triples to score 10 of the next 12 points to gain a 64-56 lead with exactly four minutes to play.
After being limited with a shoulder injury Monday night against Stephen F. Austin, Carr finished with 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting from distance.
In what became a staple of the 2022-23 Lady Raider team, the squad kept battling, using a triple from the Big Kat to pull to within 64-59 with 3:29 to play.
On the ensuing Arkansas possession, Tech used a steal from Freelon to gain possession back, but a Gerlich triple was altered by an Arkanas defender.
The rebound fell into the hands of an Arkansas Player. Later in the possession the Hogs used a pair of free throws from Daniels to seize back momentum. The shots gave UofA a 66-59 lead with 2:51 to play.
In the end, Arkansas held Tech scoreless until the 48 second mark of the fourth, when Scott drove and made a pair of free throws to pull the Lady Raiders to within 69-61.
Tech did score on back-to-back possessions to get to within 70-66 with 17 seconds to play, before ultimately falling 71-66.
After shooting 8-of-30 in the first three quarters, the Razorbacks hit 3-of-5 attempts from distance. All five shots Arkansas attempted in the fourth were from distance.
For the game the Hogs 20-of-32 from the line with 15 of the makes coming in the fourth where Arkansas shot 15-of-22.
Tonight, also marked the final collegiate game for five different Lady Raiders: Ferrell, Gerlich, Scott, Tofaeono and guard Tatum Veitenheimer.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• The Lady Raiders held Arkansas to just 14 points in the paint. It marks just the third time this season in 23 games that Tech held its opponent to under 32 paint points and didn't win.
• Scott closed a special season with one last strong performance, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-7 from three and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line.
• With her 28 points, Scott narrowly missed becoming the 21st Lady Raider to score 550 points. Scott ended the season with 546 points and 169 free throws made.
• The guard needed just five more makes from the line to tie Michi Atkins (1995-96) for fourth place on the single-season makes list.
• Scott finished the season averaging 17.1 points and 6.3 rebounds.
• With her seven rebounds, Scott surpassed 200 rebounds for the season.
• Stepping up in the biggest moment of the season, the Big Kat turned in one of her best offensive performances of the season. Ferrell made 4-of-5 field goals in her 12-point outing including both her 3-pointers.
• Ferrell finished her amazing career with 139 games played and 124 starts.
• In her 139 games, she scored 660 points, grabbed 822 rebounds, had 256 steals and 102 blocks. She joins former UCONN star Maya Moore as the only two players since 1999-00 to record at least 600 points, 800 rebounds, 250 steals and 100 blocks.
• Tech (40.4) actually outshot Arkansas (39.2) and made one more field goal, but the Razorbacks outscored the Lady Raiders 33-27 from behind the 3-point arc and 20-15 from the line.
COACH SPEAK (HC KRISTA GERLICH)
"What a great game and environment. It's a lot of fun in the moment to play in a game like that. It's frustrating to not come out on top, but I'm proud of this team and the way they continued to battle. They could have easily thrown in the towel when they were down 13-0, and said it's too hard, and we don't want to fight back. But that's not who this group is and that's not their makeup. They've been fighters all year long and have overcome all the obstacles to become a really good basketball team. I'm really proud of how tight this group is and the chemistry they have. It's always disappointing when you lose your last game, but I couldn't have asked for more effort or fight from this team."
On Scott's performance tonight:
"I was talking to the TV crew this morning at shootaround, and someone mentioned how when players come home it can go two ways. I told him then that Bre would rise to the occasion because that's just who she is. The bigger the stage for Bre, the better she performs. She was so excited to get the chance to come back to Arkansas to play. She over 100 people here watching her. She had to score tonight a variety of different ways, but that's what she does for us. Her stat line was really good. The efficiency that she scored the ball with. And even some of the things she does for us defensively is fantastic and we're going to miss her a lot. She has certainly cemented her name in our record books and in our program."
Bryn on playing for her mom and Texas Tech:
"This has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done. We've gotten so close over the last three years because of everything we've been through and done. I'm just really thankful for it, and our community for loving and accepting us. They're our biggest fans. And I'm just thankful she let me come along for the ride."
SEASON IN REVIEW:
In the end, Tech ends the 2022-23 season at 20-15 overall. The 20 wins are the most since the 2012-13 season, while the third-round appearance in the WNIT also ties the deepest WNIT run in program history. Tech lost in the third round at home to San Diego back in 2011-12.
