{"id":219889,"date":"2026-03-25T15:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219889\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:25:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:25:01","slug":"texas-tech-second-round-exit-caps-breakthrough-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219889\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Tech Second-Round Exit Caps Breakthrough Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat I can\u2019t let happen is that these 11 ladies in our locker room is think about this loss instead of what they did for the season and for the program,\u201d said Krista Gerlich following Texas Tech\u2019s second round NCAA Tournament loss to LSU on Sunday.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t let you forget either.<\/p>\n

This group won 26 games \u2014 the most since 2003. They won 12 conference games \u2014 the most since 2005. They reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 and won their first tournament game since 2005.<\/p>\n

They beat Baylor for the first time since 2011 and swept the Lady Bears for the first time since 2005. They won at West Virginia for the first time since 2015. They stayed in the thick of the Big 12 race deep into the season and finished as the only team in the conference to go 4-0 against the league\u2019s top three teams.<\/p>\n

Yes, there were highs and lows along the way. And most certainly yes, the 101-47 loss to end the season Sunday is a painful bookend to what was a joyous revival of the program. It\u2019s not what anyone wanted, and it\u2019s not the standard this team knows it\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that we were as physical as we needed to be at times,\u201d said Gerlich honestly postgame. \u201cWe weren\u2019t as tough as we needed to be. Even setting screens. We know that we\u2019ve struggled all year trying to score the basketball at a high rate. And when we don\u2019t have freedom of movement, when we can\u2019t get past somebody off of a dribble we\u2019re going to struggle a little bit. And the live ball turnovers, at halftime, we were down 18 and they had 19 points off live ball turnovers. The second half brought more of the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Texas Tech found itself down 10-0 just four minutes into the game \u2014 a place no one wants to be, especially on the home floor of an LSU team that now owns the NCAA record for 100-point games in a season. Add in a sold-out crowd of more than 13,000, there to celebrate Flau\u2019jae Johnson\u2019s final home game, and the stage only got bigger.<\/p>\n

They could have folded. Many teams have in that environment.<\/p>\n

But true to their nature, Texas Tech did what it has done all season, it got off the floor and punched back.<\/p>\n

Led by senior Bailey Maupin, the Lady Raiders closed the fourth quarter on a 14-9 run, with Maupin scoring 11 of her 19 points to close that quarter and keep Tech within five. You could see the frustration briefly creep in on the Tigers\u2019 side, perhaps not expecting that kind of response.<\/p>\n

LSU steadied itself, though as championship programs do, and kept swinging. A 24-11 second quarter pushed the Tigers ahead 43-25 at halftime, and the game never truly tilted back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all super athletic,\u201d Maupin said. \u201cThey play very good gaps. They slide underneath ball screens, and their main objective is to keep everybody in front. So that makes it difficult for any offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maupin, though, more than held her own. Early in the game, she traded step-back threes with future WNBA first-round pick Flau\u2019jae Johnson and looked every bit like she belonged on that stage.<\/p>\n

She finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about Bailey is she\u2019s just so incredibly tough \u2014 she\u2019s a warrior,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cShe literally comes from the West Texas dirt. She doesn\u2019t back down from anybody. I wish we could have given her more help, because that\u2019s what she\u2019s been doing for us for four years. But it was great to see the stage she can play on. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised at all if we hear her name called in the WNBA Draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her fellow captain, Denae Fritz, also showed she belonged. While she may not call it her best game as a Lady Raider, that arguably came on Friday night to get the team here, she embraced the moment \u2014 both offensively and in taking on a future pro in Mikayla Williams defensively.<\/p>\n

More than any single performance, though, it was the standard set by Maupin and Fritz that made this turnaround possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey upheld the standard. They held each other accountable,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cWhen times got tough, they didn\u2019t shy away from the moment or from failure. They owned it and tried to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerlich was quick to emphasize it wasn\u2019t just those two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a whole locker room full of them,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not sad right now \u2014 I\u2019m sad that it\u2019s over. That group brought so much joy. We didn\u2019t have drama, we didn\u2019t have tension. We had kids who were excited to be there and played hard. They brought joy to our daily work and to this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Setting the Standard for What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n

The way it ended isn\u2019t how they wanted it. It hurts. It stings. But it doesn\u2019t define them.<\/p>\n

What this team did was lay the foundation for what comes next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure take a lot of pride in it,\u201d Maupin said. \u201cThis is something we\u2019ve been working on for years. We got the program back to where it deserves to be, and where it will continue to be. That\u2019s an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snudda Collins echoed that pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me,\u201d Collins said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t how we wanted it to end, but I\u2019ll always have my chin up and be proud of what we did this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Texas Tech to take the next step \u2014 from returning to relevance to competing for championships \u2014 Gerlich made it clear what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to have that investment to compete at that level,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a big gap. You saw it today. We have to be able to fund our program in the NIL space and revenue share space to compete for championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

That next step starts now.<\/p>\n

The offseason begins immediately. The transfer portal opens soon. The work doesn\u2019t stop. And the message to future Lady Raiders is already clear, who better than Maupin herself to say it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture is set,\u201d Maupin said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t believe in what we\u2019re doing and don\u2019t have the same mindset, maybe you should choose a different program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Point. Period.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight on,\u201d Collins added. \u201cJust believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Believe is what this team did even when people told them they were wasting their energy. <\/p>\n

Picked to finish 13th out of 16th in the Big 12, they finished fourth and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

Legacy secured.<\/p>\n

Now we wait and see what\u2019s next, soemthing Maupin has planned out already.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years from now, I\u2019m going to turn on the TV and see Texas Tech playing in the third round, the fourth round, the national championship game,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m going to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will it take for this program to take that national championship jump? Gerlich was not shy about the investments needed and the disparity between the team they lost to on Sunday in that area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to have that investment to be able to compete at that level. There\u2019s a big gap between probably one through eight, eight, maybe? \u2026 Maybe eight. And eight through 64. There\u2019s a big gap. And I mean, you saw it today, right? We have to be able to. to fund our program in the NIL space and the rev share space to be able to compete at the level to win championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on that to come as the offseason begins officially tomorrow and the never ending loop of recruiting begins.<\/p>\n

Photo Gallery: (7) Texas Tech vs. (2) LSU, NCAA Tournament Round Two<\/p>\n

*Photos by Erica Martinez, Seeing Scarlet | Red Raider Sports<\/p>\n

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