Sparked by a 25-5 run to end the first half, the No. 8 Texas Longhorns responded to an early double-digit deficit and pushed past the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, 76-55, on Wednesday night at United Supermarkets Arena.
The Longhorns (25-2, 14-2 Big 12) started strong, scoring seven unanswered points in the first two minutes. However, Japreece Dean made back-to-back three pointers to start a 16-0 run for the Lady Raiders, which tied a season high for consecutive points.Ivonne CookTaylor led the Lady Raiders during that stretch with seven points, including a traditional three-point play off a full-court outlet pass from Dean.
Empress Davenport stopped the 3:45 Texas scoring drought with an inside jumper, but the Lady Raider lead swelled to 23-13 with a triple from Dayo Olabode. Tech took a 23-16 margin into the second quarter. Tech’s 23 first-quarter points were the most in an opening frame since Dec. 30, vs. TCU (25).
“I thought we played well in pockets, like the start of the game, Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. “The first quarter was probably the best we’ve played–we just couldn’t maintain it. Texas is good, they’re going to keep coming at you, they probably have the best depth in the league, multiple people that can come in and they can rotate their starters. I’m definitely proud of how we played at times.”
In the second frame, Texas responded by getting the ball inside. However, with All-America candidate Imani Boyette saddled with two fouls, Kelsey Lang picked up the slack with eight second-quarter points, as part of a 25-5 Longhorn run to take a 38-28 lead into the half. Texas ended up outscoring the Lady Raiders 42-14 in the paint and 12-0 on second chance points while compiling a 41-27 advantage on the glass.
“We really turned it over a lot, and only had five shot attempts in the second quarter,” Whitaker said. “We passed up some open shots early in the shot clock. If you’re going to beat Texas, you have to have an outstanding performance, and shoot it when you’re open. We were turning shots down and running late into the shot clock, turning it over, and took bad shots. Texas is really good defensively, so when they give you something you just have to take it.”
In the first half, Tech shot 10-20 (.500) from the field and 4-7 (.571) from long range, while holding Texas to 17-36 (.472) from the field and 2-8 (.250) from deep.
The Lady Raiders went score-for-score with Texas for the first half of the third quarter, and trailed 48-38 with 4:16 left in the stanza. However, the Longhorns went on an 8-0 run to end the quarter, took a 56-38 lead into the final frame and did not look back from there.
Dean led the Lady Raiders with 17 points and five assists. In her two games against Texas this season, Dean has averaged 19 points and four assists. Texas was ranked in the nation’s top 10 in both contests.
“She’s had a great year,” Whitaker said of Dean. “In a lot of ways she’s overachieved, not because she isn’t talented but because she’s asked to do so much for our team. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s really accepted that challenge. I’m proud of the year she’s had and the growth she’s made.”
CookTaylor also with finished 15 points, marking the 10th time in the last 13 games she has registered at least 13 points. CookTaylor has now scored in double figures 18 times this season.
The Lady Raiders will now travel to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, on Saturday. Tipoff inside Allen Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on watchespn.com and the WatchESPN app.
(Press Release Provided by Texas Tech Athletics Department)
