Lady Raiders’ dominant first half leads to win over Southern

Photo CC: Brad Tollefson/ Lubbock A-J Media

When the halftime siren rang, there was no doubt who would win this game. The Lady Raiders coasted a little bit in the second half but was dominant in this one from start to finish as they win today over Southern by a score of 79-60.

Texas Tech Head Coach Krista Gerlich trotted out a different starting line-up today, starting Naje’ Murray and sitting Khyla Wade-Warren, who started last game instead of Chrislyn Carr’s departure last week. The impact was immediate as Murray drained the first field goal of the game, a three-pointer.

The Lady Raiders were led by Lexi Gordon and Vivian Gray once again, as both of them topped 20 points. Gray started the scoring with a free-throw on the first possession of this game. The name of the game in the first quarter was getting to the free-throw line. There were 12 attempts by the team in that quarter alone, with nine going in.

Texas Tech did a lot of the same things today that led them to a win over TCU Saturday. Simply put, they attacked the basket relentlessly and that is ultimately what allowed them to grow a 11-point lead after the first quarter to a 23-point lead at halftime. The offense was incredibly efficient in the first half. They shot 56% from the field and 62% from behind the arc.

The second half wasn’t as efficient, as some players that are not a part of the regular rotation got some valuable playing time. The Lady Raiders maintained their energy from the first half and kept attacking the basket. The team shot 57% for the game, 58% from three-point range, and 68% from the free-throw line, making 22-32 attempts.

Final Thoughts:

Gordon and Gray once again led this team to victory. Gordon recorded a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She was everywhere on the offensive end of the floor, hitting from all three levels, inside, mid-range, and three-point range. She also hit 8-14 free-throws. The senior was aggressive the entire game and has stepped up in a big way recently.

Gray has also stepped up but in more of a distributor role. She has recorded nine assists combined in the last two games. She also dropped 22 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor and 2-2 from behind the arc.

This team was the more aggressive one from the tip. They out-rebounded Southern by a margin of 40-24. That aggression was not always good as the Lady Raiders had 22 turnovers on the day, something that is slightly concerning going forward. As a group, Texas Tech did a great job of distributing the ball to one another. There were 19 assists on 25 made shots, a great rate. Brynn Gerlich led the team with seven assists while only committing 2 turnovers. She is really settling into the point guard role for this team.

The Lady Raiders next face Morgan State in Lubbock on Wednesday, December 23rd.

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