No. 21 Lady Raiders preparing for tough stretch with Iowa State, TCU

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - After finding their way back on the winning track with a 77-49 victory at Utah, Texas Tech Lady Raiders head basketball coach Krista Gerlich says her team (20-2, 7-2 Big 12) was able to use the extra time on the road to its advantage and shake off the previous losses to K-State and BYU with a statement win in Salt Lake City.

“We had to dive a little bit deeper, I mean we had really good meetings while we were on the road. They even had a players-only meeting that I think was fantastic for this group, and I think you saw a lot of togetherness and a lot of just reset,” she said. “And luckily against Utah, they came out and they really followed the game plan very well defensively, really felt comfortable and confident offensively, and played really well.”

Following last week’s 73-61 loss to BYU, the Lady Raiders had three days to regroup. Coach Gerlich says the mini hiatus was a positive for her players, especially with the extra time to reevaluate.

“That’s what I love about this group is that you can really be forthright with each other. You can be really honest and hold each other accountable, and I think as coaches, we did that, as a staff, we did that, as players, as our team. And then all together, we did that,” she said.

On Wednesday night, the Lady Raiders will host the Iowa State Cyclones (16-5, 4-5) who are led by the Big 12’s leading scorer Audi Crooks (26.3 points per game) and point guard Jada Williams, who leads the conference in assists. Gerlich knows containing the pair will not be an easy task.

“Audi Crooks has shown time-and-time-again that if she’s comfortable, if she can get two feet in the paint and get an angle to the basket, she’s pretty legit. Like it’s pretty high volume right there and high percentage,” she said. “Jada, obviously, if she can have her way and pick her shots, she can really get going too, so I think we’ve got to take away what they like to do and try to keep them as uncomfortable as possible and keep them guessing. We just can’t let them get in their rhythm.”

Tip-off for Wednesday’s game is set for 6 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Four days after hosting the Cyclones, Tech will then turn its attention to No. 12 TCU (19-2, 7-1), who is the defending Big 12 champions. Olivia Miles ranks third in the conference in points scored, averaging 19.1 points per game.

“Olivia Miles is an incredible guard who puts up ridiculous numbers. It’s really fun to watch when the times that I have watched her. They’ve got some really big presence inside that do some really nice things. They’ve got shooters on the perimeter. They almost seem like a professional basketball team much like they did last year,” Gerlich said.

Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the USA.