BY TRAVIS CRAM l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Texas Tech’s loss Tuesday night to No. 2 Oklahoma may not have been a surprise to many people. But the sequence of events that resulted in that loss sent the message that the Lady Raiders were close to knocking off the second-best team in the country.

So does that mean the Lady Raiders are ready to challenge more of the top teams in the Big 12 Conference?

“They can,” Tech head coach Kristy Curry said. “But what this team has to understand is we have got to be consistent with our efforts. It seems like we have to have adversity to have this kind of effort. We can’t do that over the next five games.”

Texas Tech's Kierra Mallard (20) battles for a rebound with Oklahoma's Ashley Paris (5), Danielle Robinson and Courtney Paris (3) during the second half of their game at United Spirit Arena onTuesday.

And they will have to have that effort if the Lady Raiders (14-11, 4-7 Big 12) want to remain in consideration for an NCAA Tournament berth and maybe secure a spot before the postseason Big 12 tournament. A win against the Sooners would have guaranteed Tech at least a split with OU before heading to Norman on March 4, but now the Lady Raiders have their backs against the wall without even stepping onto the court against another team.

Three more wins seems to be the ideal number to help make a push toward the NCAAs, but four more would leave Tech at 8-8 in the conference.

Part of what has had Tech playing so well is junior Jordan Murphree and her hot-hand shooting.

The forward-turned-guard this season has been on fire the last two games, proving she can be a threat outside the 3-point line against even the best teams. She hit three consecutive 3-pointers — four total — while scoring 18 points against Nebraska and had a career-high 25 points against the Sooners, hitting two treys.

Murphree is shooting 46.9 percent from the field overall and 60 percent behind the 3-point line.

Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson shoots ahead of Texas Tech's Kierra Mallard during the first half of their game at United Spirit Arena on Tuesday.

“The last six minutes at Nebraska and for 40 minutes (against Oklahoma) she’s played her best 46 minutes as a Lady Raider,” Curry said. “I’m so proud of her and she’s exactly what we need her to be.”

But Murphree has shown this kind of fire before, scoring 14, 22 and 19 in a three-game streak before going the next six of seven games during conference play without being in double digits.

And three players that could help make this final push, Maria Moore, Dominic Seals and Kierra Mallard, have been the streakiest players of all.

Against OU, Mallard missed her first four attempts — four of Tech’s first five shots — and went 2 of 11 for five points and six rebounds. She did not attempt a shot after the 12:43 mark in the second half. It was only the third time in nine games she failed to score in double figures.

Seals came alive after not having any effect in Tech’s loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, where she hit only 2-of-9 shots and was pulled for the final five minutes.

She hit 60 percent from the field against the Sooners and gave sisters Ashley and Courtney Paris a fight in the middle for as long as she could.

Moore may be the one exception as of late, showing how much better Tech is with its starting quarterback in the game. Moore had 15 and 10 points against Texas and Texas A&M before sitting out most of the game with a bone bruise on her left knee against Nebraska. She had 13 points against the Sooners.

But Moore’s also increased her tendency to make risky passes and has 17 turnovers credited to her in the last four games, which can be sometimes misleading, much like a quarterback and interception numbers.

Surprisingly though, she averages nearly the same amount of turnovers at United Spirit Arena (3.4) as on the road (3.3).

“It starts with the quarterback,” Curry said. “We were definitely a different team (Tuesday) than we were against Nebraska. We’ve got to have her — the good and the bad.”

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