No. 17 Texas Tech won their 17th-straight game, remaining undefeated and running their record to 17-0.
On the road at West Virginia, the Red Raiders found a way to win, boosted by a season-high 27 points
from senior guard Bailey Maupin in their 71-66 victory.
Trailing entering the fourth quarter, Texas Tech still was behind with just under four minutes left in the game, when a pair of free throws from West Virginia senior guard Jordan Harrison gave the Mountaineers a four-point advantage. An extended scoreless for both sides finally ended when Texas Tech super senior guard Snudda Collins converted a layup, with the foul, as the clock ticked under two minutes.
Collins missed the free throw, but Jaylin Britstow grabbed the offensive rebound and found Maupin for 3. She drained it.
The five-point possession gave the Red Raiders a lead they would not relinquish, as both Collins and Maupin hit the majority of their free throws down the stretch to preserve their perfection and further improve upon their best start in program history.
Cincinnati sends Iowa State to a second-straight loss
Texas Tech’s next challenge? At Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats experienced their own excitement on Wednesday night, sending No. 11 Iowa State to a second-straight defeat, 71-63. The upset gave Cincinnati their highest ranked-win in program history.
Senior guard Mya Perry was the hero for Cincinnati, scoring 26 points as she shot 10-for-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3. Perry put in some particularly timely buckets to begin the fourth quarter, as her seven early fourth-quarter points helped the Bearcats push their lead from three points to 11 points.
Over the remainder of the final frame, Cincinnati maintained separation, even as Iowa State kept pushing the Audi Crooks button. The junior center scored eight points as Iowa State attempted to come back, yet the Cyclones could not prevent the Bearcats from responding with their own scores.
Crooks finished with 23 points, although she did not meet her usual standard of efficiency as she shot 10-for-21 from the field. Junior point guard Jada Williams was the only other Cyclone to reach double figures, scoring 13 points on 16 shot attempts. The Cyclones also felt the absence of junior forward Addy Brown, who missed the game due to a back injury. To compensate for Brown’s absence, Iowa State needed a strong shooting night from behind the arc. Instead, the Cyclones were ice cold, making just four of their 21 3-point attempts.
After their loss to Baylor, Crooks expressed eagerness at the opportunity to examine, and then address, her team‘s weaknesses, emphasizing the importance of her team learning more about themselves so they can play their best ball in March.
Although not ideal, another loss gives Iowa State and Audi more ammunition as they look to become championship-ready. The task resumes on Sunday afternoon, when Iowa State hosts West Virginia.
TCU responds to first loss with defense-first win
No. 13 TCU, which likewise lost their undefeated record last weekend, more successfully implemented the lessons from their loss.
After allowing Utah to score 87 points, the most the Horned Frogs had permitted an opponent to score all season, they held usually high-scoring Oklahoma State to their lowest-scoring output of the season, winning the defensive battle 69-61.
The Cowgirls, who average the second-most made 3-pointers per game in the nation, managed to hit just four of their 22 attempts.
TCU was propelled by super senior point guard Olivia Miles’ 20 points, eight assists and five boards, with sophomore center Clara Silva adding 12 points, seven boards and three. blocks. Super senior wing Marta Suárez chipped in 11 points.
TCU’s next test comes against another one of the Big 12’s former undefeateds in Arizona State. The Sun Devils also rebounded from their first loss of the season with a win on Wednesday, running away from UCF 68-45.
