LUBBOCK, Texas – The 1,300th game in the history of Lady Raider basketball was a memorable one.

Texas Tech used great late defense and clutch free throw shooting to top Iowa State, 69-66, in overtime, at United Supermarkets Arena on Sunday afternoon.

“Huge win for us, to get that monkey off our back and get in the win column,” Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. “I’m not just proud that we won, but also that we played well. I thought we guarded tough and we had people playing lots of minutes and those people really had a lot of grit down the stretch. I thought Ivonne CookTaylor was really good on both ends and obviously made some big plays for us defensively. I think overall it was a great team win and is something we can build upon.”

The Lady Raiders (10-7, 1-5) were 6-6 from the free throw line from the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter through the end of overtime, including a pair by Dayo Olabode with just nine seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 61. The Lady Raiders entered today 16-22 on the season in those free throw situations (less than three minutes to go, single-digit game) and are now 22-28 (78.6%).

A defensive stand later, Tech found itself in its first overtime contest of the season.

Iowa State struck first in the overtime period to take a 63-61 lead, but at the 2:52 mark, CookTaylor drove to the rim and dropped in two of her team-high 21 points to tie it at 63. She also had a career-high 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Just seven seconds later, ISU’s Seanna Johnson, who finished with a double-double of her own (19 points, 10 rebounds) completed a three-point play to put ISU back in front, 66-63. In the final 2:45 of OT, Tech held ISU to 0-2 from the floor and three turnovers.

“The stops were very crucial,” Whitaker said, “[Iowa State] had to spend quite a bit of time to isolate and that means more seconds for us to foul or make a mistake. I felt like our intensity rose. I’ve been with this team before when I felt like they weren’t in a defensive stance in those situations, but I felt like they were really locked in and were going to do whatever they had to do to secure the win.”

CookTaylor hit a jumper to cut the lead to 66-65, and then at the 1:20 mark Rayven Brooks made a great spin move in the lane, which ended up as a layup to put the Lady Raiders in front, 67-66. From there, Roe got a steal, but the Lady Raiders were unable to convert, getting hit with a shot clock situation with just 14 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing ISU possession, Johnson isolated against CookTaylor and tried to take her to the rim, where Roe was waiting. The collision was deemed a charge, and the Lady Raiders had the ball with four seconds to go.

“I saw that number 12 had the ball and she obviously wanted to have the ball in her hands,” Roe said. “She was going to take the shot no matter what, so I figured I’d come over and sacrifice my body. Ivonne [CookTaylor] did a good job of defending her, but, just, thank goodness they called it a charge.”

Japreece Dean was fouled on the inbound and sank both free throws to give Tech a 69-66 lead. From there, ISU missed what would have been the game-tying three, Tech grabbed the board and dribbled out their first Big 12 win of the 2015-16 season.

“If you can get that first win, you can get momentum,” Whitaker said. “If you show up and play hard like we did tonight, you’re going to be able to compete and give yourself an opportunity to win.”

Tech fell behind early on, 7-0 and 10-2, before Ryann Bowser made her return to the court. She had been sidelined since Jan. 6 with a shoulder injury but made an immediate impact. She hit two threes and logged a couple of assists to help bring Tech back within two, at 14-12. From there, the teams traded blows until half, where ISU led 30-27.

“We missed [Ryann Bowser] badly and we knew we would,” Whitaker said. “I felt like Ryann was playing the best she had played since she has been here before she got injured. It’s great to have her back. She’s so tough and brings so many intangibles to this team. She also gives us a rotation that we had been without for the last couple of games.”

Tech, which had combined for 17 third-quarter points in its last two games, proceeded to hit eight of its first nine shots in the third, including a 9-0 run that included a Brooks traditional three-point play, along with back-to-back Dean threes. Suddenly, Tech had a 47-36 lead in the middle of the third quarter, which turned into 51-43 heading into the fourth quarter. Tech outscored ISU 24-13 in the third, its second 20-point third quarter of the season.

However, ISU struck back. Tech went on a scoring drought of more than four minutes in the middle of the fourth, allowing ISU to climb into the lead with a 9-0 run. Grant tied the game at 57-57 with a pair of free throws at the 1:50 mark. ISU’s Bridget Carleton hit a jumper with the shot clock running down to give ISU a 59-57 lead with just 55 seconds to go.

CookTaylor responded with a layup to tie the game at 59 with 35 seconds left, but Carleton fired back again to give the Cyclones a 61-59 lead with 21 seconds remaining. After the ensuing Lady Raider timeout, CookTaylor misfired on a jumper, but Olabode skied for the offensive board and was fouled. She then hit the clutch free throws to send the game into the extra session.

Leashja Grant (5-7 FG) joined CookTaylor in double digits with 13 points, as did Dean, who had 10 points to go along with six assists.

There were a lot of 2015-16 firsts in this game for Tech. The Lady Raiders won for the first time this season when: Being outrebounded (38-35), shooting under 40% (.381, 24-63), allowing the opponent to shoot over 40% (.474, 27-57), trailing at halftime (30-27) and playing in a game decided by fewer than five points.

However, Tech was able to make its opportunities count at the free throw line, going 16-20, including hitting those last six.

Defensively, Tech forced Iowa State into 23 turnovers and only allowed nine Cyclone assists. Iowa State entered today’s game averaging only 12.5 turnovers per game this season. Tech also piled up 11 steals against Iowa State, marking Tech’s fifth double-digit steal performance of the season, and first of conference play. The Lady Raiders were led in that category by Roe, who racked up five, just two off her career high.

Next up for the Lady Raiders is a Wednesday morning road tilt with Oklahoma, in Norman. Tipoff is set for 10:30 a.m., as part of OU’s Education Day celebration.

Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Information Department