Women's basketball: Texas Tech bucks shooting woes to complete sweep of Kansas State

The shooting slump — and subsequent losing streak — is over.

The Texas Tech women's basketball team caught fire Sunday, knocking down 11 3-pointers in a 78-68 win over Kansas State in a Big 12 Conference matchup at United Supermarkets Arena. Four Lady Raiders scored at least 16 points, including Bre'Amber Scott, who got going after a slow first half.

Scott scored 17 of her team-high 18 points after halftime. Jasmine Shavers added 17, while Bryn Gerlich and Bailey Maupin scored 16 apiece. Tech shot 48.2% from the field and 42.3% from deep following a stretch of poor marksmanship during a three-game losing streak.

So what was the key on Sunday?

"Just pass it to the open player," Wildcats coach Jeff Mittie said. "I mean, if they found the open player, we were slow to them. Gerlich came in hot. She comes off a game (shooting) 4 of 6 (on 3s). We were awful slow to that rotation to her."

Gerlich made her first four 3-point attempts and finished 5 of 8 overall. She attributed the team's offensive success to ball movement and sticking to the game plan — areas in which Tech struggled late in a loss to Oklahoma State on Wednesday and throughout two prior setbacks.

"I think the past couple of days we've really had an emphasis on execution," Gerlich said. "I don't think we've been sticking to our offensive game plan very well the past couple games. So today, that was a really big key for our win, and I thought we did a really good job of that and being really patient."

The result gave the Lady Raiders (16-7 overall, 4-6 conference) a season sweep of KSU for the first time. The Wildcats got a game-high 27 points from Serena Sundell, who made 16 of 18 free-throw attempts.

KSU's Gabby Gregory, the Big 12's second-leading scorer, added 16 points. The Wildcats (14-10, 3-8) didn't lead after holding a 4-3 edge in the opening two minutes.

KSU got within three points in the third quarter before the Lady Raiders got back on track. The Wildcats went the final 5 minutes, 2 seconds of the frame without a field goal and trailed 58-51.

KSU's next field goal, a Gregory 3-pointer with 8:11 remaining, brought the team within 61-56. Tech responded with a 9-0 run to create a comfortable advantage.

"I thought we saw a lot of poise, a lot of togetherness, a lot of coachability," Lady Raiders coach Krista Gerlich said. "They stayed together and they just didn't panic. I liked that maturity in them and that experience."

Tech held a 38-28 lead at halftime after knocking down 7 of 16 attempts from 3-point range. Maupin hit a 3 at the buzzer to give her 10 points.

The freshman was part of a trio of Lady Raiders with at least nine points in the first half. Tech shot 46.4% in the opening two quarters, assisting on nine of its 13 field goals.

The ball movement helped the Lady Raiders to the double-digit advantage despite Scott netting one point on 0 of 4 shooting.

Gregory had seven points on 3 of 4 shooting, surpassing her scoring total from the first meeting in the first quarter. The senior finished with two points and no field goals in the 85-65 Tech win.

The Lady Raiders travel to Austin for a Wednesday matchup against Texas. Tech beat the Longhorns 68-64 on Jan. 18 in Lubbock.

"We've been saying that since it's the second half of conference, this is a new season," Bryn Gerlich said. "We're in charge of our own destiny. No one else can control us but us. Just really taking control of what we want to do and having the mindset and focus to go out and do it."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Women's basketball: Texas Tech completes sweep of Kansas State