
Tigers Defeated By No. 8 Texas Tech
1/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Having limited Missouri to 13 points in the first half, Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp had an easy time telling her team what to focus on over the final 20 minutes.
"At halftime we talked about making sure we could be pleased with our performance for 40 minutes," she said. "We wanted to play hard and involve as many people as we could."
The eighth-ranked Lady Raiders did exactly that, thanks in large part to a career-high 32 points from Plenette Pierson in an 84-50 victory Tuesday night.
"It's hard to put into words," Missouri coach Cindy Stein said. "I think Texas Tech is an extremely talented team, one of the best teams in the country. But we're disappointed in our play and in what we demonstrated tonight. Hats off to Texas Tech, though."
Texas Tech (17-2, 6-1 Big 12) wrapped up the victory in the early stages of the second half. After Missouri (9-8, 3-3) outscored Texas Tech 10-4 over the first four minutes of the second half to make it 43-23, the Lady Raiders went on a 13-0 run.
Pierson scored eight points in the run while Jolee Ayers, who had season-highs with nine points and 11 rebounds, scored four.
"I didn't think about anything else out there," Pierson said. "I know I may miss a few shots, but I can do other things like passing to my teammates and playing defense for a while. I definitely think I was playing in my own little world out there."
"I thought the last seven minutes of the first half we didn't play very well," Sharp said. "We only scored eight points and we struggled a little on offense. When we started going back to Plenette in the second half, she really responded by making some great plays on the block."
Missouri never got closer than 27 points the rest of the way.
"You don't want to get beat like that," Stein said. "But we have to learn from this and get better. We played a very good team tonight, but I know we're a better team than we showed."
Jia Perkins had 18 points for the Lady Raiders.
Stretch James paced Missouri with 16 points, including six of 10 points during the early second-half run.
Pierson and Perkins each had six points as Texas Tech used a 17-0 run to take a 24-5 lead. Natalie Ritchie added a 3-pointer and Ayers had a follow shot as the Lady Raiders took command.
Missouri was held scoreless for nearly a six-minute stretch of the opening half. The Tigers finished the first half with four field goals and four free throws.
After James scored on a putback to cut the lead to 24-7, the Lady Raiders went on a 12-2 run. Pierson scored seven points during the run with a three-point play, a rebound basket and two free throws.
Texas Tech led 39-13 at halftime.