WBB: 1993 championship magic wasn’t enough as Texas Tech loses to Baylor

The first Texas Tech squad to win an NCAA national championship was the 1993 Lady Raider basketball team.

Led by future WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes, sharpshooter Krista Kirkland and head coach Marsha Sharp, the team went all the way and put Texas Tech on the map.

A lot has changed in the 30 years since. Tech was one of the best programs in women’s basketball as Sharp coached until 2006, but then they fell off and couldn’t replicate the success of the past for many different reasons.

Kirkland, now Tech head coach Krista Gerlich, tried to lead a promising Lady Raider team this season to a historic victory in front of the 1993 team and other alumni, but they fell short. Tech lost to the Baylor Lady Bears 79-59 Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Lady Raiders (15-6, 3-5 Big 12) had retro black uniforms to honor the 1993 team, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a tough Baylor team (14-6, 5-3 Big 12). Baylor has won the last 27 meetings against Tech.

Gerlich thanked everyone for making the environment amazing, even as the game was rough to watch. She said she hates, especially for her players, that they weren’t able to play better against Baylor.

Gerlich admitted it was fun but nerve-racking to play in front of the 1993 team and many other alumni, and she said they support this team through it all having been there before.

“I just appreciate so much that they came back and that we had such a great turnout for our reunion because we’re building it, we’re definitely building it,” Gerlich said. “We’re getting that excitement back into the program, and they’re a big part of it, and I know that our kids will continue to fight to carry on that legacy that they’ve left.”

Baylor head coach Nikki Collins had to admit that the environment was pretty cool. Having graduated high school in 1993, she remembers the Lady Raider championship team well, and she loved how Gerlich took her blazer off and showed she was wearing a jersey as well.

“The reality is, in women’s basketball, you would rather go on the road and play in front of a rowdy crowd,” Collins said. “This is why you do what you do, and there’s nothing better than silencing a crowd or making a crowd mad on a bad call, and I thought the fans here were awesome.”

Five players scored in double digits for Baylor, led by 16 each from Jaden Owens and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs. Buggs also added 10 rebounds to have a double-double, and Caitlin Bickle had 14 points and 12 rebounds to get a double-double of her own.

Super-senior Bre Scott had 22 points for the Lady Raiders, marking her sixth game in the last seven that she’s scored at least 20 points in, but her three-point shot was off along with the rest of the Lady Raiders.

Freshman Jasmine Shavers had 19 for Tech, including Tech’s only triples, but no one else for Tech had more than four points as Tech shot 31.3% from the field.

Collins said on some of the three-pointers, it was just Tech missing, but she also gave credit to her defense. She also said she liked that her defense took Tech off their original plays and forced Shavers and Scott to take every shot, forcing them to just make something happen.

In Big 12 play, Tech’s Bre Scott (23.6) and Baylor’s Sarah Andrews (20.3) are the top two scorers, and they showed that early Saturday.

Andrews, who finished with 13 points, made two triples for Baylor to give them an 8-4 lead, but Scott quickly tied it at 8-8 with two tough layups.

That’s when Baylor started to climb ahead, and Tech’s shooting slump from Jan. 21 against West Virginia seemed to carry into the Baylor game.

Andrews made another three-pointer in the second quarter, but no one else from Baylor could shoot from deep. Still, those three-pointers were the biggest difference as Baylor got up 36-26 at the half.

Shavers had a nice end to the first half with a mid-range jumper and Tech’s lone first-half three-pointer, and she carried it to start the second half with another mid-range jumper.

Katie Ferrell made a tough and-one to suddenly make it a five-point game.

That was all Tech had as they proceeded to shoot 2-for-18 from the field the rest of the quarter. Baylor was worse than Tech until the 4:52 mark, but they at least made four free throws and then started to shoot fine again to go up 53-40 at the end of the third quarter.

Tech tried different lineup combinations, even using centers Ella Tofaeono and Jazmaine Lewis on the floor at the same time at one point, but the Lady Raider offense couldn’t find a spark, and the Baylor offense did enough as they slowly piled on their lead in the fourth quarter.

Baylor outscored Tech in the paint 36-28. Collins understood that beating Tech in the paint is how they were going to win.

Gerlich said Tech got timid early, and although they started the second half strong, they fell back into strange shots again.

“I thought we came out of the half and attacked well for a couple of possessions,” Gerlich said, “and then we went right back to being a little bit more timid and taking some step-back threes and one-foot jumpers, just things that we’re not characteristically doing.”

She also said there is a bit of a discipline factor to it, and in the last two games, they might’ve panicked a bit in ways that they didn’t before, mentioning the Jan. 18 win over Texas. She said it starts with her making sure to simplify things and making them stay consistent and not abandon what they need to do.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day

At the Baylor game, Tech celebrated the 37^th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day created in 1987. The official day is Wednesday.

The Women’s Sports Foundation is the main organization that pushes for the day. They do research to advocate for a range of causes, such as Title IX compliance and female participation in sports.

On Friday before the game, Gerlich said this day means a lot to her because it is her livelihood. Her dad was her high school coach, and the door was always open to her at a young age. She said sports teach a lot of life lessons, and she loves that girls can play sports and it’s supported here, especially in West Texas.

Up Next

Bailey Maupin came back for her first game since hurting her ankle against Kansas State on Jan. 14 and played 13 minutes. She didn’t score until late in the game, but Gerlich said it was good to see her out there again.

Gerlich also knows that they might be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, but she said this team has to make sure to just focus on each game, and the rest will take care of itself.

The Lady Raiders will go on the road to play Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Oklahoma State swept Tech last year but by a combined six points.

Their next home game will be Feb. 5 against Kansas State.

Box Score, Schedule