Streaking Lady Raiders eye rare conference road win
BY TRAVIS CRAM l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Before the Texas Tech women’s basketball team began Big 12 Conference play last week, it had shirts made to sum up what its trying to accomplish this season.
Texas Tech's Jordan Murphree is averaging 18.3 points per game in Tech's last three victories. The team plays at Texas A&M today.
“It says, ‘You have to undo it, to do it,’” Tech head coach Kristy Curry said. “We’ve got to undo some things. Whether it’s getting more sleep or spending more time in the gym and not being selfish with your time, undo it to do it.”
Tech (10-4, 1-0 Big 12) would like to undo some of its road habits following a five-game win streak at home that was capped off with Saturday’s 65-62 win over No. 15 Texas.
One game after winning her first game over a top-10 opponent since coming to Tech, Curry is looking for her second, taking on No. 8 Texas A&M (13-1, 1-0) at 7 p.m. today at Reed Arena in College Station.
For Curry it would mean undoing the road angst of last season. Tech went 0-8 on the road in Big 12 play and has not won a conference road game since beating Nebraska in Lincoln in February 2007. The Lady Raiders have not beaten A&M in the last five attempts as well.
“There’s probably not a tougher start to conference play than what we have,” Curry said. “But our kids are going to rise to the challenge.”
That means going up against four teams in The Associated Press Top 25 (No. 15 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 17 Kansas State and No. 5 Baylor) within the first five games of conference play. And while Saturday’s win keeps momentum for the Lady Raiders at home — and maybe for this week — they have yet to see a team with as much experience and skill as the Aggies have.
A&M has three returning starters from last season’s Elite Eight squad, including seniors Takia Starks and Danielle Gant. Starks averages 14.5 points per game after putting up 13.5 per game last season.
Cram Session by Travis Cram
Gant took home Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Monday after her performance in the Aggies’ conference-opening win over Missouri. The 5-foot-11 senior was a perfect 10 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points in the 62-56 win.
Curry knows Gant and Starks are as talented as their statistics indicate, but a lot will come along the boards as well.
“I think you have to look at two things when you play this team,” she said. “We have to make sure we are staying on the rebounds, a lot like the way we had to prepare for UCLA. And of course, trying to contain Starks and Gant.”
Tech’s best weapon has been junior forward Jordan Murphree. She averaged 18.3 points in Tech’s last three wins, hitting 6 of 14 (42.8 percent) from 3-point range — more than she did in her previous five games this season.
Murphree’s defense was just as good in the same three-game stretch as she got 10 steals while drawing a critical offensive foul against Texas in the closing seconds of Saturday’s win.
“She knows for us to win she will have to be better,” Curry said. “And she is doing what it takes to keep helping this team win.”
College basketball
• Who: Texas Tech women vs. No. 8 Texas A&M.
• When: 7 p.m., today.
• Where: Reed Arena, College Station.
• Records: Tech 10-4, 1-0 Big 12; A&M 13-1, 1-0.
• Last game: Tech 65, No. 8 Texas 62; A&M 62, Missouri 56.
• Radio/TV: KFYO 970 AM, KKCL 98.1; No TV.
travis.cram@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8736
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8735
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How can Curry sit there and say Murphree needs to get better when she lets Maria Moore play at all. Yes they all need to improve and play better but to single out Murphree who has pretty much allowed Tech to win those games is wrong. Curry here is an idea…..call out players who continually commit turnovers aka Maria Moore and Dominic Seals. They both played horribly against Texas and your gonna call out Murphree???? who actually played well. This is why we need a coaching change. Gerald Myers if you read this FIRE Kristy Curry and hire someone who coaches bad players more than the good ones and has more respect for a player who carries her team.
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I agree with Bubba about Murphree. She has gotten better. Also Kierra Mallard has improved greatly. Now it is time for the other players to follow their lead and step it up a few notches. Maria Moore has not shown any improvement, instead her playing seems to have dropped to a new low.
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I think to play in the Big12 at a high level a coach has to coach each player hard all the time.
No, do not slack off Murphree, keep her going. At last we are getting to see the strong player that she is, and it is wonderful. JM has shown this potential from her freshman year and is getting to display it with consistency. Yea !!!
And yes, continue to work Moore and the others just as hard.
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Mike you miss the point I think. Yea we hope they all continue to improve, but why would you call her out like that? We’ve got players like Maria Moore that have in some cases probably cost us games. Coach them more. All I’m saying is that calling Murphree out was very irresposible of Curry when she has players that think they are still on the playground and they are the best player and are a one person team. Maria Moore has still yet to grasp the concept that basketball is a 5 player sport at the college level. Maria Moore is talented, but she wastes it because she is a ” me ” player that thinks she can do it all and apparently Curry thinks the same thing of Maria Moore also. It’s sad when people boo one of the own players because she is that bad. To tell you the truth I boo her at the games because she commits turnover after turnover and Curry looks the other way.
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Please do not get me wrong I WANT them to do well, but you can’t sit there and let her do that and say nothing. Bad coaching on Curry’s part and bad on a fan’s part to let it go on without so much as a word of disapproval. Through what 15? or 14 ? games nothing has changed with Maria Moore or really for that matter Dominic Seals. They continually make high school type mistakes yet they play almost as if not more than the ones who are not turning the ball over as much. To me its a problem of coaching and leadership.
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Maria Moore needs to be told to relax and let the game come to her. She has talent and desire but needs a “coach” to make her see that she can be successful if she just stays focused on what’s important. And that means playing as a teammate, not as someone who is out there by herself. But then, a good coach would have already told her that. Personally, I’m just not impressed with Curry as the head coach.
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Amen eric…..thats why I say Curry needs to be gone. She is apparently just at Tech for a paycheck because it does not appear like she wants to coach anybody but Jordan Murphree that way she can say well look at the good player “I ” developed. Somehow I guess Curry thinks Tech is fine just being average. If she was half the coach Sharp was then players like Maria Moore would never see the court.
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