The Texas Tech women’s basketball team put together its best performance of the year Thursday to extend its season.
The 14th-seeded Lady Raiders pulled off their second-straight upset in the Big 12 Tournament to down No. 6 seed Utah 75-64 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The Utes were No. 23 in NET rankings, marking Tech’s first Quad 1 win of the season.
The Lady Raiders advanced to the tournament quarterfinals to face Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Friday. The third-seeded Cowgirls are ranked No. 21 in the latest Associated Press poll. OSU (24-5) edged Tech 71-68 in Lubbock on Jan. 25.
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That began a nine-game losing streak for the Lady Raiders, who have beaten Big 12 competition three games in a row for the first time under coach Krista Gerlich.
Tech (17-16) outscored Utah 21-10 in the second quarter to take a 31-23 halftime lead. The Lady Raiders never trailed in the second half, going up by 14 early in the fourth period.
Bailey Maupin led Tech in points (22), rebounds (seven) and assists (six). She was 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, including 10 makes down the stretch to seal the win. Denae Fritz and Jasmine Shavers added 12 points apiece. It was Fritz’s second consecutive double-digit scoring game after four in the regular season.
This is the deepest run in the Big 12 Tournament for the Lady Raiders since 2019. It’s the first time Tech has won multiple games in the tournament since 2003.
“We struggled for a long time,” Maupin told the ESPN+ broadcasters, “and a lot of people counted us out. But at the end of the day, we didn’t count ourselves out. We knew we were just that close. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter when you turn it on. If it’s in March, it can be magic.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech beats Utah in Big 12 Tournament women’s basketball
