{"id":98865,"date":"2025-12-23T20:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/98865\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T20:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:31:12","slug":"four-takeaways-as-big-12-womens-basketball-opens-conference-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/98865\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Takeaways as Big 12 Women\u2019s Basketball Opens Conference Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first round of Big 12 women\u2019s basketball player featured a buzzer-beater, a Top 25 upset and several blowouts. But it wasn\u2019t boring.<\/p>\n

By the time the first eight games of the slate ended eight teams were undefeated in league play and four of them were still undefeated for the season. As the women\u2019s season heads into the holiday break, here are four thoughts on the openers.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech is For Real This Time<\/p>\n

Last week I wrote about the rules for making the NCAA Tournament<\/a>. Win 10 or more games in non-conference, win 10 or more games in conference and have 20 or more wins before the Big 12 Tournament. Most of the time, you\u2019re dancing.<\/p>\n

Each of the last three years Texas Tech has completed the first leg but didn\u2019t come close to completing the second leg and missed the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Lady Raiders haven\u2019t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2013.<\/p>\n

I made the point that Tech going undefeated in non-conference made a bit of a difference. Every undefeated team in non-conference in the Big 12 in the last eight full seasons got to the postseason \u2014 but not always the NCAA. Getting to March Madness means not fumbling conference play.<\/p>\n

Tech was presented with a golden opportunity to flip the script on Sunday. The Lady Raiders were at Baylor, playing a team they hadn\u2019t beaten in their last 31 tries and a program that has been the league\u2019s standard-bearer for some time. Texas Tech didn\u2019t let it slip.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech beats No. 15 Baylor on the road 61-60!<\/p>\n

The Bears had won 31 games in a row against the Lady Raiders.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech remains undefeated (14-0) and will certainly be ranked this coming week for the first time since 2011-12 season.<\/p>\n

What a weekend of Texas Tech hoops!\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HPnM0kkzqa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Justin Margolius (@JustinMargolius) December 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, Tech was ranked on Monday, No. 21 in the country. Baylor was looking up at Tech at No. 22.<\/p>\n

Now, the Lady Raiders head into the break 14-0. When they come back, they\u2019ll face a favorable schedule for most of January \u2014 home against UCF, home against Arizona, at West Virginia, at Cincinnati, home against Houston, home against Kansas State, at BYU and at Utah before back-to-back games against ranked Iowa State and TCU, both at home.<\/p>\n

Krista Gerlich returned to her alma mater to reset the standard she led as a point guard for Marsha Sharp\u2019s 1993 national championship game. She may finally have the team to get the program back to the NCAA Tournament. It should be a fun winter in Lubbock.<\/p>\n

K-State Needs a Break<\/p>\n

That was how head coach Jeff Mittie put it after Kansas State\u2019s 22-point loss to TCU on Saturday, a game I covered. Inconsistency has been the story of the Wildcats\u2019 7-7 season so far and Mittie would agree with that assessment.<\/p>\n

He also agreed the team needs a break. The holiday will give that to him and his team.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019m looking forward to the break, because we need more practice time,\u201d Mittie said. \u201cBut I\u2019m looking forward to the break before that practice. When you have a non-conference like us, I\u2019m going to take a couple days, just like the players are.\u201d<\/p>\n

On paper K-State\u2019s non-con looked rough before the season and it was. The Wildcats played five power conference teams, two ranked teams and scheduled mid-majors that were tricky. For every good win like SMU and Ole Miss there were iffy losses like Green Bay. Kansas State played 10 games in November and played three games in 10 days before the break.<\/p>\n

This is a talented team. Mittle brought in one of the best recruiting classes in the conference. The transfers can give the program a real boost. But, when set against the last four years with Ayoka Lee, Serena Sundell, Gabby Gregory and the Glenn sisters, it\u2019s not comparable. Mittie knows that. So did his opposing coach on Saturday, TCU\u2019s Mark Campbell.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s college athletics,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI mean, I think you would say the same thing about our roster \u2014 there\u2019s just such a high turnover in college athletics right now, you have to rebuild it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching Kansas State in person I came away with this thought \u2014 this is a team I wouldn\u2019t want to play in February and March. I think the Wildcats will have it figured out by then. It just may be too late for the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

Forks Up<\/p>\n

There was some criticism lobbed Arizona State\u2019s way after parting ways with women\u2019s coach Natasha Adair after just three seasons. The replacement came from across town \u2014 Grand Canyon\u2019s Molly Miller. Can\u2019t argue with the results so far.<\/p>\n

ASU is 14-0 under first year head coach Molly Miller, and one win shy of the best winning streak in school history.@MollyMiller33<\/a> has won her last 44 non-NCAA Tournament games going back to last season when she was coaching at GCU. pic.twitter.com\/kjznrgiK6c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Arizona State handled Colorado, 79-63, in their Big 12 opener. Miller wants opponents to feel like they\u2019ve gone to \u201cthe dentist\u201d after playing ASU \u2014\u00a0her words from Big 12 media days. The Sun Devils balance out their scoring, turn up the pressure and wear teams out. Gabby Elliott, a sixth-year college player, leads the team with 16.3 points per game, her career best average.<\/p>\n

Arizona State is not ranked but received seven points in Monday\u2019s poll. Miller acknowledged the schedule was crafted a certain way. It was loaded with mid-majors to start \u2014 Santa Clara and UNLV were the toughest games \u2014 with high-majors and quality opponents to ramp up for Big 12 action. ASU beat Penn State, Oregon State and Gonzaga before the Colorado game.<\/p>\n

Arizona State is unlikely to get a ranked team until Jan. 11 when it heads to TCU. With Utah, BYU and UCF dead ahead, it\u2019s possible the Sun Devils could be 17-0 \u2014 and unranked \u2014 before that game. That could be ASU\u2019s chance to prove it belongs in the poll. For now, ASU heads into the break one of 12 undefeated teams in the country and in control of its NCAA Tournament destiny. ASU\u2019s last appearance was in 2019.<\/p>\n

Chasing the Hare<\/p>\n

I had to go back to my phone and my interview in October with Iowa State head coach Bill Fennellly after that last-second shot by Kenzie Hare to lift the Cyclones to a win over Kansas on Sunday. The conversation was about Hare.<\/p>\n

She only played 10 games last year due to injury.\u00a0 Bur Fennelly underscored her importance to the rotation this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a guard that can shoot the three,\u201d Fennelly said. \u201cShe gives us another on-ball defender. We need to be able to space the floor with Audi (Crooks) and to do that you have to be able to shoot the three.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the biggest shot of her Iowa State career, which started last season. She\u2019s only averaging 6.7 points per game. But, she\u2019s firing 51.1% from the 3-point line. She has 27 field goals this season and 24 of them are 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a reason why Crooks is having the season she\u2019s having. Plus, because Hare has been so efficient, she can make teams pay with limited chances.<\/p>\n