Despite a game high 27 points from senior Bre'Amber Scott, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders fell to Kansas State, 79-69 Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium.
Scott was sensational once again when Tech needed her the most, scoring 14 points in the final 10 minutes. In addition to her 27 points, Scott grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Her triple with 4:58 brought the Little Rock native over 1,000 career points.
Leading 11-8 after the first quarter, Texas Tech (18-14) led by six points (16-10) with 7:33 to play to in the first half, but Kansas State (17-15) outscored Tech 17-10 to take a 27-26 lead at the break.
Tech came out of the locker room and struck first on Scott triple, but K-State answered with eight of the next 10 points to jump in front 35-31.
After a Tech timeout, Wildcat forward Sarah Shematsi hit a triple that gave her team a 41-34 lead with 4:28 to play in the third.
Tech scored the next four to pull to within 41-38 with two minutes and 20 seconds left in the third, but K-State scored nine of the next 11 to take a 50-40 lead with 14 seconds to play in the quarter.
The Lady Raiders used a jumper from Bryn Gerlich to get to within 50-42 after three quarters of play.
A Serena Sundell and-one gave K-State a 53-42 lead with 9:21 to play, but Tech answered with seven of the next 10 points to pull to within 56-49. Sundell finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Down 60-51 with 6:42 to play, Tech made its run, using a pair of free throws from Kilah Freelon to score nine of the next 11 points to get to within 62-60.
Behind Gabby Gregory, K-State scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 70-62 lead with 2:06.
On the ensuing possession, Rhyle McKinney had a good look from three, but her shot rolled all the way around the cup before bouncing out. K-State got the rebound and called timeout.
Tech did get the ball back with 1:19 to play and used a Scott triple to move to within 70-65, but K-State scored nine of the final 13 points to close out a 79-69 victory.
Three Lady Raiders finished in double figures led by Scott. Gerlich added 10 points and four steals while freshman Bailey Maupin scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds.
HEAD COACH KRISTA GERLICH:
"Our kids played their hearts out, and it's unfortunate that they weren't rewarded for how hard they play. Kudos to K-State for winning the game tonight. It's really hard to beat a team three times in a season. They came out and played extremely hard. I have a lot of respect for [Kansas State] coach [Jeff] Mittie and what he does. And I wish them the very best as they move on in the tournament. I cannot fault our kids because they give us everything they have and more. And I feel like they do not ever get the benefit of the doubt which I hate for them. You saw a tremendous performance from Bre Scott. She is one of the best players in the league and the nation and it's going to be fun to watch her play at the next level. For her to get 27 points and 10 rebounds was fantastic. She just elevated her game this entire season. You're seeing our present in Bre and our future in Bailey. Bailey really adjusted throughout the game and in the second half figured out how to get downhill and get two feet in the paint. She made some good passes out or jumped up and scored. She got tougher as the game went on and she's going to be a shining star for us moving forward. And then ours seniors were really gutsy, and they played extremely hard. It's just unfortunate we didn't come away with the win."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• In her second season wearing the Scarlett and Black, Scott raised her game this season, scoring 494 points.
• The guard recorded her 10th 20-point game.
• The Lady Raiders were outscored 44-24 in the paint. Tech fell to 0-10 this season when allowing more than 32 points in the paint.
• The two teams combined for 22 steals, with 10 coming by the Lady Raiders.
• K-State scored 22 of its 79 points off Tech turnovers. The Lady Raiders turned it over 16 times and were outscored 22-13 in points off turnovers.
• The Wildcats outscored Tech 52-43 in the final 20 minutes.
• After not hitting a 3-pointer (0-8) in the first half, K-State shot 5-of-11 in the second half.
• Tech shot 17-of-19 from the line (89.5 percent)
• The Lady Raiders did out rebound K-State 37-33, holding the Wildcats to just five offensive rebounds and six second chance points.
UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders will likely earn a place in the 2023 WNIT field on Sunday.
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