For many of the freshmen on the Texas Tech women's basketball team, their first game action against other competition will come north of the border.
The Lady Raiders begin their two-exhibition trip to Canada on Thursday. Tech will face a pair of college teams from British Columbia over the weekend, and a cautious approach to the roster's health could push the newcomers into the spotlight.
Purdue transfer Kiki Smith has already been ruled out for the season because of injury, while Jalynn Bristow and Jalayah "Bunny" Ingram were dealing with their own summertime ailments in mid-July. Tech coach Krista Gerlich told the Avalanche-Journal on July 15 the team could be limited to eight players in the exhibitions.
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"Bunny got injured (July 14) in practice, so I'm not sure she'll be ready," Gerlich said. "I'm not sure we'll chance it because it's not worth it to me. That's why we're shutting Jalynn down because it's not worth it to me for her to get injured just to play in those two games. We may be rolling out our freshmen and saying, 'Here we go. Welcome to international basketball.'"
The Lady Raiders signed six players from the 2026 class, including Lubbock's Ambrosia "Bro Bro" Cole. The haul also features 6-foot-5 Jayda Kearney, 6-4 Moriyah Douglass and sisters Milania "MiMi" Jordan, Gianna "GiGi" Jordan and Natalia Jordan. Gianna Jordan is still recovering from a high school injury and will not play this weekend.
Tech will also be without 7-foot-1 center Stephanie Okechukwu because of a "visa issue," Gerlich said. The Nigeria native has not made her collegiate debut after transferring during the 2025-26 season.
Gerlich opted for a cautious approach in Canada because of the relaxed nature of the matchups. She added a documentary is being produced from the trip.
"That's part of the reason we're going as well," Gerlich said. "Those two games are just clearly exhibition."
Still, it will serve as the first look for the freshmen. It's not likely to be their only contribution for 2026-27, either.
"I think there's opportunity (for playing time)," Gerlich said. "Obviously we signed Bro Bro and GiGi Jordan at the point-guard position, and they're top-100 kids, so we expected them to impact us as freshmen. The others, I think they're gonna have to by default a little bit, but I think they can. I think they definitely have the athletic ability to do that."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech women's basketball freshmen get time to shine in Canada
