Jordyn Merritt scored a season-high 24 points as the Texas Tech women’s basketball team defeated Houston 66-48 on Wednesday at United Supermarket Arena. As a result, the Lady Raiders completed the season and opened the Big 12 with a 79-71 victory in Houston on December 30th.
Merritt’s scoring outburst complemented a stifling defensive effort. Tech (15-6, 4-4 conference) forced 20 turnovers and held the Cougars to 30.2 percent shooting.
This marks the most time the Lady Raiders have advanced to conference play in at least 10 seasons with a batting average of .500 or higher.
Tech will be looking for its first straight Big 12 win of the season on Saturday when TCU travels to Lubbock. On Tuesday, the Horned Frogs (15-4, 2-5) defeated UCF 66-60 in their first game since being sidelined due to a lack of available players.
Bailey Maupin will take on point guard duties.
Houston certainly saw a different Bailey Maupin this time around.
Maupin scored 19 points in the first matchup, but was given more of a task Wednesday coordinating the attack. As Tech’s primary point guard, Maupin finished with four assists and five turnovers while taking a backseat to scoring.
The Gruber native missed his first six shots and didn’t score until the fourth quarter. She finished with two points, her lowest of the season. Maupin averaged a team-high 15.1 points, but fell short of her second double-digit scoring performance. She scored seven points in the win over Houston Christian.
Rohan Johnson plays against local team
Johnson came off the bench and tied a career high in the first half. Houston Christian High School’s team scored 11 points to help Tech University lead 33-26 at intermission. Johnson aggressively attacked the basket, adding 3-pointers and going 4-of-5 overall.
She tied Merritt for the team lead in first-half scoring. Merritt was also effective, making 5 of 7 shots and helping the Lady Raiders to a 54.2% mark in 20 minutes.
Johnson finished with 15 points. After her 20-minute performance at BYU, she recorded her 27 minutes, a career-high.
Texas Tech starts with third new lineup
For the third time in four games, the Lady Raiders started with a different lineup.
Kira Freelon was off the bench for the first time this season, making Maupin the only Tech player to start all 21 games. The Lady Raider, who has started the last four games, has only merit.
Jada Wynn started for the third straight year, part of an initial shake-up that began before the Iowa State game. His other two positions were filled with familiar faces.
After missing two games, Jasmine Shavers returned to the starting five. She led the team at BYU with 16 points. Ashley Chevalier also reclaimed her spot, starting 17 of the first 18 games.
