Oh, how things can change in the course of a year.
Losing to Kansas State in any other year would feel predetermined, like Triple H having the book for a typical squash match. The Wildcats have owned the Texas Tech women’s basketball team over the years, nearly doubling up the all-time series between the two programs.
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By the end of Saturday’s matinee in United Supermarkets Arena though, what’s been hard to quantify became evident before all 9,261 sets of eyes in the building. The Wildcats were happy, ecstatic, even, to walk away with the 65-59 win. Kansas State players stormed to center court at the final buzzer and filled the arena tunnels with cheers of their latest triumph.
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This is certainly not the same Lady Raiders folks have become accustomed to in Krista Gerlich’s tenure. Beating Texas Tech is seen as a signature win for teams like Kansas State. Who would have thought that possible back in October, when the thought of a nationally-ranked Texas Tech team being one of the last unbeatens in the country, holding all the keys to their destiny in their own hands, was impossible to quantify.
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Which makes being on the losing end of the 65-59 outcome even more difficult for Gerlich.
“There’s no good loss, in my opinion,” Gerlich said. “Whether you’re on a streak or not, we’ve got to have that mentality of the next game, we’re winning it, and it doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past. What I’m most interested to see is how we respond.”
The loss was Texas Tech’s first of the season, ending records for the longest winning streak (19 games) and best record to start Big 12 play (6-0) to a close.
Texas Tech head coach Krista Gerlich reacts to Snudda Collins hitting a 3-pointer and drawing a foul against Kansas State during a Big 12 Conference women’s basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in United Supermarkets Arena.
Texas Tech’s success to this point hasn’t gone unnoticed. National outlets have started to catch on to the happenings in Lubbock. Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie also liked that Tech’s home venue produced an incredible atmosphere not seen for Lady Raider games in some time.
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“Really, really great to see a crowd in there. Really great to see that energy. This building is a special place for women’s basketball and it’s great to see that kind of crowd and that kind of response to what they’re having is such a really, really good year.”
Imagine a few short months ago, before the Lady Raiders (19-1, 6-1) took the floor for the first time together, saying Texas Tech losing to K-State would be considered an upset. That it wouldn’t even have a blemish on its record by Jan. 16. Or that the Lady Raiders are so firmly into the NCAA Tournament conversation that a loss isn’t exactly detrimental to their postseason chances?
All of that’s well and good, and Gerlich is appreciative of what’s transpired thus far. But she also knows there was a glaring weakness to the Lady Raiders’ game this season, one Gerlich felt the team had covered up for in the first 19 games of the year.
Game 20, against Kansas State (10-9, 3-3), was when the chicken came home to roost. The Wildcats outrebounded Tech 46-20, including 17-3 on the offensive glass, and held a 28-14 advantage on points in the paint. Those are the areas Gerlich was worried about for months that finally came to the surface.
Kansas State players celebrate their 65-59 win over Texas Tech in a Big 12 Conference women’s basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in United Supermarkets Arena.
“To me that is fixable,” Gerlich said. “We can absolutely fix that, and I know our kids will. But you know, moving forward, it’s just gonna have to be an emphasis because there’s no doubt that people will see that stat and they will absolutely crash the boards on us.”
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Gerlich spent plenty of postgame press conferences last season questioning her team’s toughness and willingness to fight. This was the first time that’s been a concern this season (mostly on the glass), and with how the Lady Raiders got this far, she’s not concerned about what lies ahead.
“They were very disappointed, as I knew they would be,” Gerlich said of the team’s mood after the game. “We’ve talked about that. We’ve talked about if they give all of their effort, if they give all of their focus and they play the hardest that you can, and if you lose, you find out a different way.
“But it can’t be because we didn’t play together, or we didn’t play hard, or we didn’t give elite effort. They’re going to beat themselves up about this a little bit. … They have to know that they’re going to get everyone’s best show. And so they’ve got to step up, rise up, and find a way to compete every possession.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: K-State pounds glass to end Texas Tech women’s basketball’s undefeated run
