While the last couple of weeks have been far from perfect for Krista Gerlich and the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, it’s important to remember that things haven’t completely and totally gone off the rails for the Texas Tech women’s basketball season.
The Lady Raiders have lost three of their last four games after one of the best starts in program history and now sit at 20-3 overall and 7-3 in Big 12 play. And now they’re looking to face off against the No. 12 TCU Horned Frogs.
I have a few questions and there are plenty of things that the Lady Raiders need to improve upon. But here are the three biggest questions I could think of as the Texas Tech women’s basketball team looks to find a way to upend the No. 12 team in the country.
Will Texas Tech even be competitive with TCU when it comes to the rebounding battle vs. the Horned Frogs?
Do you know who the best team in the Big 12 is when it comes to pulling down rebounds? The TCU Horned Frogs. Do you know who one of the worst teams in the Big 12 is when it comes to rebounding? That’d be the Texas Tech Lady Raiders.
On a per game basis across all games this season, TCU is averaging 42 rebounds per game. Again, that’s the best in the Big 12. Texas Tech is averaging just 36.4 rebounds per game. That’s good for No. 12 in the conference.
Can the Lady Raiders hold their own in the paint when facing TCU’s Clara Silva (who is averaging eight rebounds per game) and Olivia Miles (seven rebounds per game)?
Will Texas Tech’s defense be able to handle one of the Big 12’s most productive offenses?
So far this season, the Lady Raiders rank as the second best defense in the Big 12 as they’ve held opponents to an average of 56 points per game. That’s really impressive! And it’s a huge reason as to why Texas Tech started 19-0.
Unfortunately, recent losses have increased that average (and also put losses on Texas Tech’s resume). In Texas Tech’s three recent losses, the Lady Raiders have allowed 65, 73, and 84 points. Which is not ideal, to say the least.
It’s really bad when you consider that TCU is averaging 80.8 points per game this season.
Is Texas Tech capable of bouncing back and steering out of the ditch?
Again, for so much of this season, things were going right for the Lady Raiders. Texas Tech was thriving early on and really looked impressive. It seemed like Texas Tech’s seasoned roster was ready to achieve a ton of great things this year.
And that’s still feasible, but it seems suboptimal to see that the Lady Raiders have lost three of their last four games (especially considering that some of those losses came against teams that aren’t exactly the best in the Big 12).
So what will happen when the Lady Raiders meet up with the team at the top of the conference right now?