LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A lot of defense made up for a little
offense by Texas Tech.
The No. 9 Red Raiders used 33 Nebraska turnovers to pull away
for a 66-50 win Wednesday night.
Texas Tech finished 10 points below its scoring average, but
held the Cornhuskers to their second-lowest point total of the
season.
"You definitely have to make sure you play good defense
whenever you're away," said Amber Tarr, who led Tech with 18
points. "Your shots may not fall away from your home gym, but
defense is pretty much the same."
Plenette Pierson scored 16 points, and Katrisa O'Neal added 10
for the Lady Raiders (14-2, 5-0 Big 12), who have won five straight
and nine of 10.
Nebraska (9-8, 1-3) was still reeling from its worse loss ever,
an 89-46 blowout at No. 7 Iowa State on Saturday, and it showed
early. The Huskers had 18 turnovers by halftime and tied the season
high they set in losses to Creighton and Auburn.
"At this level, you play a Top-10 team ... you can't make
mistakes," Nebraska coach Paul Sanderford said. "You can't beat a
great basketball team when you turn the ball over 33 times."
Greichaly Cepero, Margaret Richards and Steph Jones scored nine
points each to lead Nebraska. Jones also had nine rebounds, and
Cepero finished with eight before fouling out with 6:33 left.
The Raiders finished with fewer than 70 points for just the
fifth time this season. Tech didn't shoot particularly well, going
22-for-64 from the field, but the turnovers were too much for
Nebraska to overcome. The Raiders scored 29 points off turnovers.
"I hope a lot of it was what we did. They're young and a little
bit inexperienced at some of the positions," Tech coach Marsha
Sharp said. "We hoped it would be a situation we could really take
advantage of. I felt like we were quick enough."
Tarr made a 3-pointer and Tanisha Ellison hit a pair of jumpers
as Tech opened the second half with a 9-2 run to go up 44-26.
Nebraska used an 8-0 run, getting four points from Mitchell, to
cut the lead to 56-40, but that was as close as it got.
The Huskers stayed in it early in the first half despite eight
turnovers in the first 10 minutes. Nebraska's zone forced Tech to
the outside, where the Raiders were just 7-for-20 to start.
After Nebraska's Monique Whitfield tied it 17-all with a jumper,
the Huskers turned the ball over on eight of their next nine
possessions, allowing Tech to go on a 14-0 run.
"During every timeout, we talked about trying to not let them
make a run at us because we didn't want to get the crowd involved
in the game," Sharp said. "We probably created some fairly easy
opportunities for us on the other end. I thought that was the
difference during that period."
Pierson had seven points during the run, which started on a
three-point play off a missed free throw.
Jones' short jumper with 3:25 left before halftime ended a
5-minute, 39-second scoreless drought for Nebraska.
"I don't think it was them. I think it was us," Jones said.
"We're young and we're learning the hard way."
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Texas Tech Clubhouse
Nebraska Clubhouse
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