Women's basketball: Texas Tech looks to slow Gabby Gregory, Kansas State a second time

One couldn't have asked more of the Texas Tech defense the first time it faced Kansas State.

Wildcats guard Gabby Gregory, then the Big 12 Conference's leading scorer, didn't convert a field goal in 33 minutes of an 85-65 Lady Raiders win. She finished with a season-worst two points on 0-of-7 shooting, including 0 of 5 from 3-point range.

Krista Gerlich said part of Gregory's performance may have been a mental struggle, and the Tech women's basketball coach knows replicating their success will be tough. But the Lady Raiders will give it their best shot in the rematch Sunday at United Supermarkets Arena.

"We tried to throw different matchups against her," Gerlich said following Saturday's practice. "We tried to double (team) her when we could. I think she probably got in her head a little bit. I don't think it was so much us as much as it was her, at times. She got a couple of good looks early and they didn't go down. And that kind of affected her a little bit."

Gregory enters off consecutive strong outings.

In a 78-77 upset of No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday, the KSU senior scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting. That followed a 25-point night against Kansas. Gregory made at least three 3-pointers in each, hitting 7 of 14 attempts combined.

Combating that long-range attack is at the front of Gerlich's mind. The Wildcats shot 7 of 30 (23.3%) from deep in the first meeting.

"I thought we gave up way too many open 3s for them," Gerlich said. "They just didn't hit them. We've got to really guard against that and not let them have that many open looks, because they're really good shooters. … The last time we played them, we let them get to the paint too many times, which created those open shots for them."

Tech (15-7 overall, 3-6 conference) enters on a three-game losing streak after an 86-74 setback at Oklahoma State on Wednesday. The Lady Raiders went up 70-69 with 5:23 remaining before a 4-minute, 43-second scoreless drought. The final result spoiled a career night for Bryn Gerlich. The senior scored 25 points against her former team, including 21 after halftime.

It was a quiet night for leading scorer Bre'Amber Scott, who netted seven points in 31 minutes. She shot 3 of 9 while scoring fewer than 18 for the first time in conference play.

Scott had a career-high 37 points the first time against KSU, but Krista Gerlich knows others will need to help shoulder the scoring load. Jasmine Shavers also had a career-best with 26 points against the Wildcats (14-9, 3-7).

"We've been a team since the beginning that has to have multiple double-digit scorers," Coach Gerlich said," I think, for us to be successful. … We have kids that can score the basketball. We've got to figure out how to get them all to do that on the same night, right? If that happens, really good things are gonna happen for our team."

As Tech begins the second half of Big 12 play, Krista Gerlich said every game is amplified. She knows if the Lady Raiders, or KSU, want to start a run, Sunday is an important win to have.

"We've got to match that intensity," Coach Gerlich said. "I'm sure they're really confident. I'm sure they want to stack success; they want to get on a run as well. We've got to protect our home court and just continue to fight. Right now you're in February. We have always said you fight in February. So we've got to be the tougher fighters in this game (Sunday)."

Kansas State at Texas Tech

Big 12 women's basketball

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: United Supermarkets Arena

Records: Kansas State 14-9, 3-7; Texas Tech 15-7, 3-6

Radio: FM 107.7

Live stream: ESPNU

Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia and @annierice_photo on Twitter for live updates, with postgame analysis and images at lubbockonline.com.

Big 12 standings

School Conference, Overall

Texas 9-2, 18-6

Oklahoma 8-3, 18-4

Iowa State 7-3, 15-5

Baylor 6-3, 15-6

Oklahoma State 6-5, 16-7

West Virginia 5-5, 14-7

Kansas 4-6, 14-7

Texas Tech 3-6, 15-7

Kansas State 3-7, 14-9

TCU 0-11, 6-16

Saturday results

Oklahoma State 77, TCU 65

Oklahoma 93, West Virginia 68

Texas 68, Kansas 65

Baylor at Iowa State, (n)

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Women's basketball preview: Lady Raiders look to slow Gabby Gregory, Kansas State a second time