No. 11 WBB Takes Down Texas Tech, 88-80

Wednesday, January 26

Lubbock, TX

7 PM

Baylor

14-4,4-2Big 12

Texas Tech

9-10,2-6Big 12

Baylor

Texas Tech

No. 11 WBB Takes Down Texas Tech, 88-80

1/26/2022 9:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech poked holes in a Baylor defense that was downright suffocating just three days ago in a win over Iowa State, hitting a season-high 11 3-pointers and shooting a sizzling 52.8%.
            Trailing by 15 after the first quarter, the Lady Raiders went on an extended 15-0 run that "changed the complexion of the game." But, Sarah Andrews hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:20 left and scored six of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the 11^th-ranked Bears (14-4, 4-2) to an 88-80 victory Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
            "I think in that moment, I was locked in and shot a confident shot," said Andrews, who was 7-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-3 from outside the arc, "because I knew I could hit the shot."
            Tech (9-10, 2-6) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit and tied it up at 79-79 on a three-point play by Taylah Thomas. But, the Lady Raiders missed their last three shots, turned it over three times and were outscored 9-1 in the last 2 ½ minutes.
            "We've got to regroup better. We've got to take better care of the ball in those early possessions," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team won its fourth in a row. "That run to start the third quarter changed the complexion of the game. It just gave them legs and life."
            When NaLyssa Smith scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter to give the Bears a 29-14 lead, no one would have guessed that this one would come down to the wire just like Baylor's three previous conference road games.
            "We got scoring from anywhere and everywhere in the first half," Collen said. "We just forgot to play defense in the second quarter."
            After Tech's Rhyle McKinney drained a 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter, the Lady Raiders scored the first 12 points of the second half to make it a one-point game, 51-50. Vivian Gray and Lexy Hightower hit back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a Bryn Gerlich three-point play and another Hightower trey.
            "As dialed in as we were against Iowa State on Sunday, we weren't the slightest bit dialed in defensively tonight," Collen said. "That's on me. I've got to have them better prepared and understanding that it wasn't (Iowa State's) Ashley Joens driving or posting up. We doubled when we shouldn't have and got burned multiple times. I'm just disappointed with our defensive effort."
            Tech got within one twice in the third quarter, but Andrews scored on two driving layups and a step-back 3-pointer in the last two minutes to push Baylor's lead back to 71-66 going into the fourth.
            "I was challenged before the game, earlier in the week, to finish layups," Andrews said. "Tonight, I hit from the 3-point line and finished. . . . Just the work we put in behind closed doors. The team behind me, they gave me the ball in the right spots, and we're just growing each and every game."
            That growth was especially apparent in the fourth quarter, when the Bears didn't even flinch when Tech tied it up at 79-79.
            When Smith missed a drive to the basket, Caitlin Bickle grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Andrews for the 3.
            "I think she pretty much carried us in the big moments, to be honest," Collen said of Andrews. "The types of finishes she had at the rim were really impressive, they weren't just the clean layups."
            Bickle came up big, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench, including the pivotal offensive board at the end of the game.
            "She's a warrior," Collen said of Bickle. "She does all the little things. She's a good screener, four offensive rebounds, she's a kid that will take a charge. . . . She is truly about winning. She doesn't care if she doesn't score, she doesn't care if she scores 20. She's going to do all the little things. That's the key with her, she's just a winner."
            After Andrews' 3-pointer, the Bears hit six of free throws in the last two minutes to finally put the Lady Raiders away.
            "It's always hard to get a win on the road because they have such a home-crowd advantage," Andrews said. "To win on the road means a lot, because on any given night, anybody be beat in the Big 12. It's just a special year this year."
            Gerlich hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 22 points, while Gray had 21 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.            Plagued by foul trouble, Jordan Lewis and Queen Egbo had 16 and nine points, respectively, for the Bears.
            Baylor kept pace with Big 12 frontrunners Iowa State and Oklahoma and moved up to fourth in the standings, just a half-game behind Texas. The Bears go back on the road to face West Virginia (10-7, 3-4) at 1 p.m. CT Saturday in Morgantown.