Kilah Freelon runs out of the tunnel during player introductions against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Bailey Maupin shoots for three against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Kilah Freelon goes up for a block against UTRGV’s Charlotte O’Keefe. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jasmine Shavers and the bench celebrate after a foul is drawn. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Rhyle McKinney surveys the court before making a pass against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jordyn Merritt reaches up for a layup against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Sparkly boots. That’s the caption 🙂 (Andrew Watters) 
Bailey Maupin watches her three point shot go in after being knocked to the ground by UTRGV’s Mele Kailahi. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Rhyle McKinney shoots for two against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jasmine Shavers looks to the student section to celebrate a three point shot against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
UTRGV’s Iyana Dorsey stares down Texas Tech’s Ashley Chevalier before driving to the basket. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Kilah Freelon grabs a rebound while UTRGV’s Charlotte O’Keefe tries to avoid a foul. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Krista Gerlich and Bailey Maupin talk during the Lady Raiders’ game against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
A fan holds a homemade sign as Krista Gerlich watches the Lady Raiders play against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Texas Tech’s Jada Wynn goes for a block and Bailey Maupin looks for a rebound off of UTRGV’s Arianna Sturdivant. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jordyn Merritt (left), Elina Arike (center), and Bailey Maupin (right) celebrate a steal turned open layup against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jordyn Merritt blocks a shot against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jordyn Merritt goes to swat a ball away from UTRGV’s Faith Phillips. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Ashley Chevalier catches a pass from Elina Arike as the Lady Raiders play against UTRGV. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Jasmine Shavers shares a hug with UTRGV’s Iyana Dorsey at the conclusion of the Lady Raiders’ game. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Coach Gerlich holds her Guns Up at the conclusion of the Lady Raiders’ game against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
The Lady Raiders put their Guns Up at the conclusion of Texas Tech’s game against the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. (Photo by Andrew Watters)
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After an exhibition loss Oct. 27 to Northern Arizona, Texas Tech women’s basketball was ready to learn from it and start the season 1-0.
It turns out bouncing back meant using a record-tying quarter to lead a bulldozing.
The Lady Raiders sparkled to put up 37 in the second quarter and 62 in the first half on their way to a 95-53 win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The 37-point second quarter tied the most points ever by the Lady Raiders in a quarter, tying the 37 points they put up in the second quarter against Oklahoma State on Feb. 1, 2020.
Head coach Krista Gerlich said it was a great statement win to start the season, and although the second half wasn’t great as they struggled a bit, it got other players some good minutes, and the first half was fantastic.
“I think you were able to see the pace that we want to play with and then also the defensive tenacity that we want to try to enforce,” Gerlich said, “and I thought that the girls really played well the first half, some of the best basketball we’ve probably played since I’ve been here in that first half.”
Jasmine Shavers put up 26 points to tie her career high and lead the way. Funny enough, she actually had a free throw to break it, but she missed it, unaware she was near her career-high.
Bailey Maupin also put up 16 points including some big three-pointers in the first quarter, and Elina Arike (11) and Rhyle McKinney (10) scored at least 10 points for Tech as well.
The blowout also gave the Lady Raiders an opportunity to get players a lot of minutes, with 10 players playing at least 13 minutes Tuesday night.
Senior transfer Jordyn Merritt enjoyed her first game as a Lady Raider, stuffing the box score in different ways with six points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
She said the people around this team have really helped her enjoy it so far. After a big first-quarter block, she celebrated a bit, which she said isn’t normally in her nature, but she’s embracing it because of her teammates.
“It’s just being around the girls who also exhibit that kind of passion for the game, I’ve learned to embrace that,” Merritt said. “So definitely expect that from me all the time because I’m coming. I’m ready,” Merritt laughed.
Their full court press was on display as it helped them force 24 turnovers, including 17 in the first half as they held UTRGV to just 15 first-half points on 24% shooting. Shavers said the full court press is nothing new to them as they’ve been doing it since the first day of practice.
“We’re conditioned to do it, so when [Gerlich] tells us to get into it, we get into it, and we ask no questions because we can do it,” Shavers said. “And we did it tonight. We ramped up the pressure, we got a lot of steals and turnovers because of it, and it’s something that we’re going to continue to do.”
Up Next
It’s a quick turnaround for the Lady Raiders, but it’s not all sparkles for them.
Jada Wynn went down and was helped off the court and didn’t put any pressure on her left leg with 30 seconds left in the game. No update on her injury was given.
This team is already trying to figure out how to replace JoJo Nworie, the 6’5” center that was the No. 1 junior college center in 2022. She missed all of last season with an injury and then suffered a second-straight season-ending injury before this year started.
Next game for them to see what they’ll have to do: Friday at 7 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena against Tarleton State.
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