Texas Tech Women

Gerlich ready for memorable season

By LANCE LAHNERT

Krista Gerlich isn’t a little bit competitive.

The veteran coach, all-state high school player from Sudan and Spearman and starter on Texas Tech’s 1993 women’s national championship basketball team lives a life of taking losses harder than enjoying wins.

That’s why as she looks at her third year of guiding the Texas Tech women’s basketball program, well, last year’s 11-19 overall mark and 4-14 Big 12 record must simply be improved on in 2022-23.

“We want better,” Gerlich says matter-of-fact about winning more games. “The effort was there last year. We had some bright moments and learned a lot. We talked a lot to our kids about believing in themselves and having confidence. For us it’s about being consistent and putting wins together on a consistent basis.”

Gerlich thinks a mix of the old and new this year on the Lady Raider roster will bring that needed consistency she preaches about to her players.

Tech returns seven players from last year and brings in seven new players. The newbies include a pair of true freshmen in all-state guard Bailey Maupin from state champion Gruver, and from Mullen High in Denver, 6-1 guard/forward Kilah Freelon.

“I do think we were able to recruit some depth in some different positions that will enable us to play at a really high level on a consistent basis,” Gerlich said.

TEXAS TECH LADY RAIDERS SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Nov. 1 Midwestern State Nov. 7 Texas A&M Corpus Christi Nov. 15 Jackson State Nov. 16 Colorado

Time 7 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Nov. 20 Louisiana @ Lafayette, Louisiana 4 p.m. Nov. 25 Middle Tennessee @ Las Vegas, Nevada 1 p.m. Nov. 26 Mercer @ Las Vegas, Nevada 10 p.m. Dec. 1 Alabama State 7 p.m. Dec. 4 Incarnate Word 2 p.m. Dec. 6 Sam Houston 11:30 a.m. Dec. 14 Oral Roberts 7 p.m. Dec. 19 McNeese State 7 p.m. Dec. 22 UC Riverside 2 p.m. Dec. 27 Mississippi Valley 2 p.m. Dec. 31 Iowa State 2 p.m. Jan. 4 Kansas @ Lawrence, Kansas 7 p.m. Jan. 7 TCU @ Fort Worth 5 p.m. Jan. 11 Oklahoma 7 p.m. Jan. 14 Kansas State @ Manhattan, Kansas 4 p.m. Jan. 18 Texas 7 p.m. Jan. 21 West Virginia @ Morgantown, W.V. 12 p.m. Jan. 28 Baylor 2 p.m. Feb. 1 Oklahoma State @ Stillwater, Oklahoma 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 Kansas State 1 p.m. Feb. 8 Texas @ Austin 7 p.m. Feb. 11 Kansas 2 p.m. Feb. 15 Oklahoma @ Norman, Oklahoma 6 p.m. Feb. 18 Oklahoma State 2 p.m. Feb. 22 West Virginia 7 p.m. Feb. 25 Baylor @ Waco 5 p.m. Mar. 1 TCU 7 p.m. Mar. 4 Iowa State @ Ames, Iowa 3 p.m.

Bryn Gerlich, left, and Bre’Amber Scott pose during Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City in October. (Photo courtesy of TexasTech.com)

Five super-seniors back

She obviously is pleased to have her five seniors back, because each qualifies as a “super-senior” – meaning they basically are playing five years of college ball – and each own at least two years of experience playing under Gerlich.

“Our team is really composed of a good group of kids,” Gerlich said. “I really like the fact that our five seniors are all super-seniors. They have played Division I basketball for a long time. What I like is they have all played in our program for at least two years. So with that, I think we have some really good experience in knowledge of what our philosophy is and what our program looks like. What we want to do on and off the court.”

Four of the five seniors returning earned starts last year led by 6-0 guard Bryn Gerlich.

If the name Gerlich looks familiar, it should, as Bryn is Krista’s daughter. After opening her career at Oklahoma State, this will be her third in a Texas Tech uniform. Gerlich started 26 games last year, handling a lot of the point guard duties and averaging 7.4 points, dishing out a team-high 127 assists and finishing second in 3-pointers with 27.

“I think Bryn did a really good job of playing out of position the past two years and positioned herself to help her teammates play at a high level by being our assist leader, and her assist-toturnover ratio was really good,” Coach Gerlich said. “She is able to distribute that for us. And she is scoring at a better level for us now that we are kind of taking the ball out of her hands more.”

Also returning with starts are 6-3 center Ella Tofaeono, a transfer from Texas A&M the previous year, who snagged 18 starts and averaged six points and 4.1 rebounds a game; 5-8 guard Tatum Veitenheimer from Windthorst, who started 14 games, averaged 1-3 points and 1.5 rebounds a game while ranking second in assists with 55; and 5-11 guard Bre’Amber Scott, who was injured most of last season but late in the year played in games, starting three and averaging 8.4 points.

“Bre’Amber is finally healthy, and that’s been a huge blessing,” Coach Gerlich said. “We saw what she could do when she got on the court for an extended period of time last year. And we are expecting great things out of her.”

Scott is a transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock last year who played her first two seasons of college ball at Mississippi State. In her last healthy season, she averaged 18 points a game at Little Rock.

“I feel great,” Scott said at the Big 12 media day in October. “I’m looking forward to enjoying this season with my teammates. I’m in a safe environment, a healthy environment, so it’s easy for me to enjoy it. Some seniors are looking so forward into the future, you don’t enjoy it. So really, I’m looking forward to enjoying this season with my teammates and making history.”

New but not new

New to Tech but not new to Coach Gerlich is 6-1 forward Katie Ferrell, a senior graduate student who played under Gerlich her freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Texas at Arlington. Ferrell averaged 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds and departed UTA as the second all-time assists leader at 491.

“Katie Ferrell, who I coached her freshman and sophomore years at UT-Arlington, has been in our program and knows what to expect,” Coach Gerlich said. “Her overall basketball IQ and her team play against Iowa State last year in the NCAA Tournament is something we really needed.”

Coach Gerlich gets almost giddy talking about her post players and their versatility. She will be able to call on 6-3 Tofaeono; 6-5 JoJo Nworie, who averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds last year for College of Southern Idaho; 6-4 Jazmine Lewis, a transfer from the University of Houston; and 6-4 sophomore Lana Wenger, who saw action in 18 games last year for Tech.

“It’s going to be really great to have some post players that can run the floor and get out on the break,” Gerlich said. “I think that will be great for us, and then another thing is they can play the front of our press that will be instrumental in getting deflections and disrupting offense for us.

“We have a lot of versatility there, and that will help us. We can go big and strong if we want to in both spots. We can go

Texas Tech Lady Raiders Roster Name, Ht., Pos., Class, Hometown

Ella Tofaeono, 6-3, P, Sr., Sydney, Australia Kilah Freelon, 6-1, G/F, Fr., Denver, Colorado Jasmine Shavers, 5-8, G, Fr., Mesquite, Texas Jojo Nworie, 6-5, F/P, Soph., Lagos, Nigeria Rhyle McKinney, 5-9, G, Soph., Argyle, Texas Bryn Gerlich, 6-0, F, Sr., Colleyville, Texas Saga Ukkonen, 5-9, G, Soph., Helsinki, Finland Lana Wenger, 6-4, F, Soph., Hersberg, Switzerland Bailey Maupin, 5-10, G, Fr., Gruver, Texas Bre’Amber Scott, 5-11, G, Sr., Little Rock, Arkansas Ashley Chevalier, 5-7, G, Soph., Chatsworth, California Tatum Veitenheimer, 5-8, G, Sr., Windthorst, Texas Katie Ferrell, 6-1, G/F, Gr., Plano Texas Jazmaine Lewis, 6-4, P, Jr., Kansas City, Missouri

Coach: Krista Gerlich Asst. Coaches: JC Carter, Ashley Crawford, Plenette Pierson Chief of staff: Jared Boyd; Operations director: Jordan Vessels 2021-2022 record: 11-19, 4-14

Ella Tofaeono eyes the basket against UNLV in Texas Tech’s 68-61 win played at First United Bank Center in Canyon on Dec. 12, 2021. Tofaeono scored 13 points against the Lady Rebels. (Photo by Mike Haynes)

long and athletic and really fast in both spots if we want to. We can obviously have a combination of that, which you will likely see more often than not. But it’s going to be really great to have post kids that can run the floor and get out. I think our posts will push each other. They are a tight-knit group, and we will see a lot of production out of that post group.”

Can’t replace Vivian Gray

Coach Gerlich said that versatility also will play out at guard because of options at point guard with Veitenheimer, University of Texas transfer 5-7 Ashley Chevalier, Bryn Gerlich and Gruver’s Maupin.

“Tatum and Ashley are true point guards,” Coach Gerlich said. “Bryn has played there, and Kat (Katie Ferrell) was a true point guard most the time I coached her. And Bailey Maupin will see some time there as well. We have a lot of different options and don’t want to put it in one person’s hands. I feel we can be more versatile and harder to guard if we can have multiple people that can get it up the floor quickly.

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“Also, Rylie McKinney is one of our returning guards that can score at a pretty high level. She had a good off-season, and I’m expecting great things out of her.”

Coach Gerlich and her team had a unique August, playing games in Greece, and she called the trip “amazing. We were able to spend quality time together off the court and bonded as well on the court. It was a blast.”

Of course, replacing last year’s leading scorer Vivian Gray at 20.2 points a game will be a challenge. But Coach Gerlich is confident in her roster to get the job done.

“I don’t think you can replace Vivian Gray,” she said. “Obviously, what she did on the court, she’s a fantastic player. But I think we will have a group of girls that will play together and get some good looks. I think we may be tougher to guard because you have to defend everyone. It’s not going to be so specific where we are getting the ball to. There was no doubt when we played last year that our primary focus was to get Vivian the ball as many times as we could, because she is such a great player.

“I think our leadership has been phenomenal. Our kids do such a good job of just pushing each other and holding each other accountable and playing hard.”

Yes, she talks about 1993

Gerlich knows the Big 12 is no picnic night-in and night-out with several teams seemingly always ranked in the top 20.

“We need to bring confidence in to Big 12 play,” she said. “Because we know what a gauntlet that it is, and we have to step up and play.

“I think we will really be hard-nosed. We are really preaching defense and making sure we can defend and dictate on defense how we want that game to go. Whether we want it fast-paced and press and run it up and down the floor or slow it down and get stops and make it a half-court game. I really think this will be a fun team for our fans to watch.”

Coach Gerlich said she does talk to her current players about that magical Texas Tech 1993 national championship team she played on. And the message is that they can do it again.

“We absolutely talk about the national championship a lot,” she said. “What you learn and what you know is from what you have gained from your experiences. What I know is you can get to a national championship quickly. You just have to have the right chemistry and right kids buying in and believing in one another.

“I think you have to have the support of the community for us to be able to maybe go that extra effort in a close game. Homecourt advantage certainly helps you. I just think this team is going to be special because our five seniors have been in the program before. They know the expectations, and they are ready to show what they can do.”

Ashley Chevalier Katie Ferrell Texas Tech Lady Raiders head coach Krista Gerlich, right, laughs with assistant coach Ashley Crawford before Tech’s 68-61 win over UNLV on Dec. 12, 2021, at First United Bank Center in Canyon. (Photo by Mike Haynes)

Kilah Freelon Jazmaine Lewis Bailey Maupin

In an unusual arrangement, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders played the UNLV Lady Rebels on Dec. 12, 2021, at West Texas A&M’s First United Bank Center in Canyon. It was a homecoming for at least six people.

Krista Gerlich, the Lady Raider coach since 2020, was WT’s coach from 2006 to 2013 before heading the UT-Arlington program from 2013 to 2020.

In the photos, clockwise from right: • Former WT Lady Buff Lexi Hightower swishes a free throw as a Lady Raider – something she had done many times in that gym. • The Tech Masked Rider, without her horse, and cheerleaders support the team in front of WT banners. • Jordan Vessels, Tech basketball operations director and a former Lady Buff under now Gerlich, and Jared Boyd, Tech chief of staff and a former student assistant under Gerlich at WT, walk onto the court before the UNLV game. • Hightower prepares to move against a UNLV player. • Freshman Lady Rebel Kenadee Winfrey, a former Canyon Lady Eagle, throws the ball in guarded by Bryn Gerlich, Coach Gerlich’s daughter. Tech won the game, 68-61. (Photos by Mike Haynes)