No. 21 Texas Tech (20-3) shook up the Big 12 with a close victory over No. 12 TCU in Lubbock on Sunday afternoon.
LUBBOCK - Two of the Big 12's top teams in the women's basketball standings squared off for a marquee Sunday afternoon matchup at the United Supermarkets Arena.
As the No. 21-ranked Texas Tech Lady Raiders got off to a slow shooting start against No. 12 TCU, they leaned on veteran guard Snudda Collins, who scored 28 points off the bench to help Tech upset the Horned Frogs 62-60.
Collins supplied all of the Lady Raiders' offense late in the game (15 fourth-quarter points), when the urgency was heightened by TCU's Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez beginning to hit shots. Two of Texas Tech's top three scorers, Bailey Maupin and Jalynn Bristow, combined to shoot just 2 for 22 from the field, but Collins' 9-of-20 mark from the floor was pivotal.
One of her three makes from beyond the three-point arc put Texas Tech in front with under a minute to go. In total, it was a tied-career-high in scoring for the senior guard from Mississippi.
Arguably the Lady Raiders' best conference win puts them at 20-3 on the season and 8-3 in the Big 12. TCU drops to 20-3 and 8-2 in conference.
Maupin and Bristow's slow shooting game held the Lady Raiders to just 32 percent shooting as a team, but they hit nine three-pointers to TCU's five. Texas Tech also got to the free-throw line at will in the second half and converted most of their opportunities, going 13-for-17 for the game. TCU made just three shots at the stripe on five attempts.
Jada Malone made a huge impact on the interior as the senior forward grabbed nine rebounds - all in the first half - with six coming on the offensive end. In total, the Lady Raiders converted 15 offensive rebounds into 10 crucial second-chance points.
Miles and Suarez were each top-10 scorers in the Big 12 entering Sunday, but while they started well, strong fourth-quarter defense allowed the Red Raiders to comeback from a deficit that had gotten to as large as seven in the second half.
The Frogs' duo combined for exactly half of TCU's points (30), scoring 15 apiece. Suarez's big day included 12 rebounds to complete her sixth double-double of the year.
The victory for head coach Krista Gerlich's squad hopes to build confidence as we near a conference tournament and potential March Madness berth. Texas Tech had dropped three of its last four games entering the matchup with TCU, the highest-ranked team the Lady Raiders have faced to this point.
Wins over TCU, No. 15 Baylor and now-ranked West Virginia add to what is becoming a solid resume entering the second-to-last month of the season.
If Texas Tech can continue stacking wins like this - and role players like Snudda Collins continue rising to the occasion when called upon - the Lady Raiders will become a team no one in the country wants to face.