It was a chaotic first inning for Texas Tech in the first game of the Women's College World Series finals.

First, Mihyia Davis hits just her 10th home run of the season - which is saying something considering the power bats this record-setting lineup possesses. The Red Raiders had a slim lead with All-American Kaitlyn Terry getting the ball, but the Longhorns responded.

And Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco said there were moments he thought the Red Raiders themselves got in their own way, too, on the way to a 7-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

First, Terry allowed a leadoff bunt single (which would become a story of itself for Tech's infield defense), then power hitter Katie Stewart sent a no-doubter to centerfield to give Texas the lead.

Texas added two more hits before NiJaree Canady was brought in, but the Longhorns stayed aggressive with the bats against Texas Tech's ace, whom fans were confused about not starting the game pitching.

"We just couldn't get out of the inning," Glasco recalled.

Texas hit a soft single to second base that plated Reese Atwood, then Kaiah Altmeyer lifted a ball to left field that soared over the head of Desirae Spearman, who was getting her first defensive start of the WCWS. Previously, it had been Logan Halleman or Terry starting in left field before Wednesday.

The two-run triple put Texas up 5-1 after the first inning, but you can argue that sharper defense could have kept Tech's deficit at 2-1 and allowed Canady an opportunity to continue pitching.

"I felt like we were out of position over and over on defense. We had plays that we could've made," Glasco said. "You look at the scoreboard and it says no errors, but I felt like we misplayed several balls that we shoulda had outs on.

"We just couldn't get momentum back."

As the bats were quieted by Texas star Teagan Kavan, Canady was pulled in an attempt to limit the number of times the Longhorns batters faced her and potentially build up timing, knowing the senior superstar would be needed on Thursday.

Canady only threw 23 pitches in 1.1 innings.

In Canady's place came Samantha Lincoln, who made her 2026 WCWS debut and allowed two runs in 3.1 innings.

"She had good success against Texas last year," Glasco said about the tall lefty from the 2025 postseason run. "She's worked really hard, and I've been wanting to get her some World Series experience. ... I thought she was outstanding tonight."

Lincoln committed a four-pitch walk to her first batter, but induced a flyout, strikeout, and groundout to end the third inning quickly. Viviana Martinez found the middle of the field with two outs that scored a run in the fourth, and a runner that was Lincoln's responsibility scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Terry was brought back in in Tech's final defensive inning, but throughout the middle innings - sans Mia Williams' home run that made it a 6-3 ballgame - the Red Raiders offense didn't make things easier on the pitching staff like it has in the past.

However, Glasco went back to the defensive lapses in Terry's first stint in the circle that impacted the game most.

"We've had games like that throughout the year ... there's several games like that throughout the year where it seemed like we aren't focused on defense and our positioning is out," Glasco said.

"It's not necessarily the errors as much as just being in the right place at the right time and getting caught off [guard]. We were shallow in left field. That was the three-hole ... and we were playing her like she's a weak slapper."

Glasco said those - call them poor judgments, distractions, or general "errors" - are areas the team needs to clean up now that the Red Raiders' backs are against the wall.

"When you play a great team like Texas, with the talent they've got, you don't have room to make misplays or to have lapses on defense."

In total, Terry accounted for 1.1 innings in the circle, giving up four runs on four hits. She threw just 20 pitches.

She'll remain a crucial part of the lineup on Thursday - both in the batting order and likely back in the circle. And for that, Glasco made sure to commend her work despite the Longhorns' win.

"Other than [the Stewart homer], I don't really remember a hard-hit ball," Glasco said. "I thought we were just in the wrong place, wrong time."

"KT has been so good for us. I wanted to see how she competed in this series," the coach added about the decision to start Terry over Canady. He explained how it's easier for him to be comfortable putting Canady into a game rather than taking her out of one.

"I felt like [Terry] competed well. We let her down behind her. We didn't play well behind her. I thought KT was plenty good enough, we just didn't back her well."

Texas Tech is 4-0 when facing elimination in this NCAA tournament. First, it was the miraculous eight-run rally with two outs in Regionals, then it was clawing out of the WCWS losers' bracket to eliminate UCLA and Alabama.

The Red Raiders are confident in this spot. After all, they have no other option but to fight for a winner-take-all game on Friday. The season comes down to this.

"We had no choice," Glasco said about the team's next mindset. "We have not lost two games in a row all year. We gotta hang our hat on that and come out tomorrow and fight. If we can survive tomorrow night's game, you've got momentum going into Game 3.

"That's all that matters, is tomorrow's game. If we do get that, and we live to see another day, it'll be a fun Game 3."