No. 18 Wildcats claw out win against Tech
TRAVIS CRAM l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Wednesday night was just going to be one of those nights for Texas Tech.
Texas Tech's Jordan Murphree (13) passes between Kansas State's Kari Kincaid (41) and Branshea Brown (34) during the first half of Wednesday's game at United Spirit Arena. The Wildcats defeated the Lady Raiders 60-48.Wednesday, January 21, 2009 (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
It didn’t matter that the Tech women forced nearly 20 turnovers against No. 18 Kansas State or that the Wildcats only hit 38 percent of their shots.
Because Tech shot only 32 percent and nine minutes seemed to separate a close game and a big win.
“At times, I just thought we had some moments where our energy, mentally, wasn’t there,” Tech head coach Kristy Curry said. “You can’t do that against Kansas State because they will make you pay.”
Kansas State (16-1, 3-1 Big 12) closed out a 60-48 win at United Spirit Arena behind a 16-2 run in the second half that broke a 31-29 game and left the Lady Raiders (11-6, 2-2) wondering if they had let one slip away.
Tech missed its next 12 shots during a nine-minute drought that allowed the Wildcats to pull away, though they hit just 33 percent (7 of 21) from 3-point range.
Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson was quick to say it was not an impressive performance for her squad from beyond the 3-point line but it was more about what guard Shalee Lehning creates with her talent.
The senior guard, who leads the country in assists with 8.8 per game, nearly had a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
“I think any time you have a great penetrator like Shalee and then you have that Ashley (Sweat) and Marlies (Gipson) dimension, it makes it really hard to guard,” Patterson said. “So you have to give up something and we were able to get some good looks around the 3-point line.”
Cram Session by Travis Cram
Gipson was able to get close on baskets in the paint and was on the boards consistently, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also stayed in the face of senior forward Dominic Seals.
But it was more of what Tech couldn’t do around its own basket that made the difference.
Kansas State's Marlies Gipson swats a shot by Texas Tech's Tilmila Martin during the first half of Wednesday night's game at United Spirit Arena.
Tech managed to stay within two points at halfitme, despite shooting 30 percent from the field and getting zero baskets from Seals, who finished 2 of 12 for seven points — her first game without double-digits since a loss at New Mexico.
It was also the Lady Raiders’ worst shooting performance since they shot 28 percent at The Pit.
“I thought they made us pay at critical times with their decision-making,” Curry said. “We just did not make enough shots to give ourselves a chance. … We just can’t shoot the ball that way and have a chance against that kind of basketball team.”
The Lady Raiders consistently missed inside the paint and on layups, making only 10 of 37 shots inside the lane.
More importantly, it means having to get over a shooting slump with No. 5 Baylor heading to town on Saturday.
“We had a night we hoped we wouldn’t have and the biggest thing you can do as a player is make sure you don’t have a second one,” Curry said.
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Was just a pitiful excuse for a Raider basketball game. No one tonight played well and it is the coach’s job to make them ready. We all have off nights but with Curry’s teams it is the opposite once in a blue moon they play lights out. I think we saw tonight why Murphree playing well is so crucial to this team. Don’t dare dump on Pat Knight or Mike Leach on their losses when we have a coach here that everyone is happy with. Three years and alot of terrible games behind us should be enough for Myers to realize that she is not the fit for this team. Look at the constants…Let’s see……..uuummmmm………CURRY!!!!!! Fire her and hire Bill Brock as head coach. Pat Knight is in his first full season so give him time and if it does not change soon he should be gone.
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I agree with everything Bubba said .
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Admenment to above post. Let’s give Coach Knight as much time as Curry has had before we make any decisions about the job.
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typical tech fans
idiots both of you are
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No box score here, but to set the record straight, that 38 percent was K-State’s shooting in the first half. They shot 50% in the second and 45% for the game. They just took over in the second half.
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At least now the Lady Raiders have two good games and then a pathetic game. A 7th grader could have made some of the shots Seals missed tonight. Losing at home in the Big 12 is the sign of a team finishing in the bottom tier and not, NOT getting a bid to the NCAA tournament.
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Fred I don’t know who you are!!! Are you even a Tech fan? I also don’t appreciate being called an idiot for my views. I guess that kind of shows your maturity level though so I’m good. I bet you have not even been going to the games consistently, but you want to play big shot on this site. Try going to a few games and if you don’t see what we are talking about then go have Lasik surgery because your blind. We are not idiots, we speak the truth and I guess your fine with Tech being a sub par program. Curry has taken the reins of a Sharp team that struggled, but had the talent and driven Tech tradition in the ground. Elite players used to flock to Lubbock and now we are recruiting players like Seals from JUCO schools?? We just need a better coach.
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What is going on here? The Texas Tech basketball program was once well respected and teams hated coming to our place because we most certainly would win the high majority of those home games. Now, no one is afraid of our home court, much less either team. We are quickly becoming one of the worst programs in basketball. If Leach does not sign, you can add football to the list. And baseball is not a given either. These last few years have seen Tech, except for last year’s football team, become also-rans in al other sports, where before they were constant title contenders. Is it lesser talented players? Poorer coaching? Harder scheduling (NOT!)? Disinterested AD? Hmmmmm. Maybe at least three of the above. I am very sad to see Raider teams become worse each year instead of improving. What to do? How about, kick the living s__t out of all of them and tell them to get their heads out of their a—. If they don’t, get rid of everyone and stop having athletic competition at all, because obviously, nobody seems to care anymore where we stand in the great schema of things. Not Leach—he sure hasn’t made any true commitment. Not Pat Knight-His teams and their play is as bad right now as it has been in years. Curry-Blah, blah, blah. Myers-so out of it he could care less what the performances are. Hance-clueless. And the players-listless and stupid. There goes the grad rate. Am I upset? You bet. And so should all those mentioned be upset. Turn it back around now, one way or the other…. Make Tech a respected athletic force that it should be. Please!
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I have to admit Curry got me AGAIN. A third generation double Tech Alum, I used to stay up till three or four a.m. to watch the Lady Raiders by internet. After the road win at Kansas, I stayed up again to support my Lady Raiders from across the Atlantic. As a Lubbock native, my loyalty has never been anywhere but with my Raiders. However, this team is so consistently pathetic, so consistently full of trite, BS excuses like “At times, I just thought we had some moments where our energy, mentally, wasn’t there, ” that just make me go ballistic. Does ANYONE that follows women’s basketball think that Coach Summit allows, much less SAYS, something like that on a regular basis? I don’t give one damn whether those girls don’t have the mentality or energy, because you know what? It would take ONE game like, and those girls would be put through such a work out the following week that they would NEVER not have focus again. People have bad days, bad games, and great teams find a way to win. This team for the last three years DOES NOT find ways to win, it finds ways to lose.
Sometimes three years is not enough to judge a coach because there is a great deal of rebuilding to be done. What we see here is not a slow rebuilding but a continuing spiraling to the cellar of the Big 12. We were once the elite of the nation, the top of the Big 12, and now we are becoming the laughing stock. WAKEUP GERALD MYERS and turn this program around. Curry may have looked good on paper and at Purdue, but she has been horrific here in the Big 12. She worried when she came if she could fill Marsha Sharp’s shoes. Well, I think that we can all agree without hesitation that up to this point she is a little girl playing dress up. She can’t fill those shoes, much less walk in them.
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Should have hired Gary Blair.
Should have hired Kim Mulkey.
But Gerald screwed up.
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Did u really think you were going to beat Kansas State? They are a veteran team that knows how to win and win on the road. (WON 16 OF THEIR LAST 18 ROADIES). If Tech is ever going to return to the upper teir of the Big 12 they need to quit playing these cream puff non conference home schedules. (Only 3 road games so far this year and the only one they won was against sorry KU) come on give me a break. You want a tougher more focused team than challenge them in the non conference. Kansas State has played more road games than home games this year. This is why they are always so tough in conference play (ie Big 12 Champs). Curry’s coaching and scheduling style may have worked at always over-rated Purdue, but this is the Big 12. She does not have what it takes to prepare her team in the elite women’s conference. As long as Curry is coaching you will always be hanging at the bottom with KU, Colorado, and Missouri. Lets face is beating Texas was a fluke and will probably be your only highlight of the year so bask in it as long as you can. They will smoke tech in Austin. Not a UT fan, just stating the facts. Peace out!
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I don’t know about Curry, but Marsha Sharp definitely left the cupboard bare for her, no doubt. She may not be the answer, but they at least seemed to be improving, versus that men’s team that’s in total shambles now. They are a disgrace, just 3-4 years removed from a near Elite 8 appearance with some (before they left/transferred) talented players.
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First off, does anyone know why Maddy Brown is not playing more. I would think that she would be a more consistent outside shooter than some of the others. Last night for the short time she was in there, she made a short jumper on the offensive end and then a great play on the defensive end a very short time later. It seems that they play some decent defense much of the time, but they seem to struggle more scoring especially against good teams.
I am not a good judge of coaching, but a couple of things might need to be remembered. One is that Marsha Sharp recruited Seals out of high school and her academics caused her to have to go the juco route. Along with that perhaps the current coaching staff may have made an error in judgement going so strong the juco route the first recuriting year. Also the last couple of years of Marsha Sharp’s tenure the teams were not as successful as in the past. They were barely .500 the last year. They may have been in a downward spiral then, who knows. I will leave it to those who know much more than I.
It appears to me that Mallard is making improvement, and I believe that you build a program more with high school recruits than with juco players you only have for a year. So maybe with the new people coming in next year in a mix with those who will be back, we may be only a year or two away from being back up at or close to the top.
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Your Lady Raiders team will continue to struggle. They have no true Posts … And it is the staff’s fault because they recruit “weakly”.. They look at stats posted instead of taking the true road to recruiting which is watching an athlete “Match-Up” against other players of that position and LEVEL. You can not find this level of player at these 1 & 2 A’s where they go recruit nor the “buddy” system of recruiting for a “friend”. Doesn’t win you a Championship, doesn’t it ????
Bill Brock is Definitely not your main.. He’s a horrible recruiter. That’s why he is no longer at “Baylor”. DUH..
Curry needs to hand it over to someone, but not Brock..
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