Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Hold On To Defeat Madrid Select, 75-70
August 20, 2016 | Women's Basketball
MADRID, Spain — The Texas Tech Lady Raiders moved to 2-0 on their Foreign Tour with a 75-70 win over Madrid Select on Saturday, at the Palacio De Los Deportes in Madrid.
It was a seesaw battle for the majority of the first half as Madrid Select held a 22-19 lead through the first quarter. Recee' Caldwell carried the offense early, scoring seven of Tech's nine points.
"We didn't start very good, with 3 early turnovers," head coach Candi Whitaker said. "Recee' [Caldwell] calmed us down and started making shots for us. She kept us in the ball game and led our team in a lot of ways. I was proud to see that leadership from her."
However, the Lady Raiders took a 29-28 lead, before Madrid tied the game at 30. From there, Tech went on a 10-0 spurt to take a 40-30 lead.
"We went on a span where we were really clicking," Whitaker said. "I thought we played really well together, especially when we were small, having four guards on the floor. I loved our versatility today—at times going with 2 bigs and other times having four guards. They played really well together and that's where we were able to separate ourselves in a tight early game. I was proud of that run."
At the half, the Lady Raiders held a 45-34 lead, behind 11 first-half points from Arella Guirantes.
Tech kept Madrid at length through the third quarter, holding a 64-50 lead through three frames. The Lady Raiders had a comfortable 70-57 lead with 7:01 to go, but Madrid went on a 10-3 run to close the gap to 73-67 with 2:13 remaining.
However, Caldwell found Jada Terry underneath for a quick two with 1:29 to go to seal the win.
Freshman Brittany Brewer led the Lady Raiders with 16 points and 11 rebounds, the first double-double for Tech on the Foreign Tour. She hit eight of her 10 field goal attempts, becoming the second Lady Raider in as many games to do so (Guirantes).
"Brittany did a great job of playing with 2 fouls in the first half," Whitaker said. "As a young player, being able to play while not picking up her third for a long stretch is huge. Also, Arella went on a scoring streak and gave us some momentum going into half."
Brewer was one of four Lady Raiders to score in double figures, joining Caldwell (15), Guirantes (12) and Terry (12).
Tech will be back in action on Tuesday, in Barcelona, Spain, taking on Barcelona Select.
See how the Lady Raiders spent today in Madrid gearing up for the game, with @MattCorkery as your host! #WreckEmhttps://t.co/GtPyOFcmo7
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) August 20, 2016
Day 6 Blog: Japreece DeanOn the bus heading to game #2 of our Foreign Tour against the Madrid Select team! #ladyraidersabroad pic.twitter.com/Po56AJ8WJt
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) August 20, 2016
Before the game, the Lady Raiders did some more exploring in Madrid. Here is today's blog, courtesy of No. 24, Japreece Dean.
Hi, Lady Raider Fans!!
This morning after breakfast we went to the museo nacional del Prado. There were several paintings at the beginning of the museum that were all different. A picture that stood out to me the most was a picture of a woman and her son Cupid, and Adonis. The picture was described as Cupid sticking his mother with an arrow on accident and making her fall in love with Adonis. Another picture that stood out to me was called Giandomenico Tiepolo (Christ falls on the way to Calvary), which illustrated Jesus Christ being crucified but people helping him carry the cross because he struggled.
After the museum we went to the El Retiro park to take a team picture. In the park is a tree they call the "grandfather tree" which is 450 years old.
Today was also game day so we were able to get some sleep, eat and get off our feet after we visited the museum and park. Pregame snack was at 3:30pm to get us up and ready for our game at 7:30pm. We had a variety of sandwiches and fruits to choose from. After our snack we got dressed, taped and headed to the bus to travel to the gym.
We won our game by 5, 75-70. We could have done better but this is a great learning experience for us. It is good for us to play together right now since there are so many different faces.
We had an adventurous day, learned new things, and saw new sights.
Madrid is beautiful
Wreck 'Em
For more information on Lady Raider Basketball, follow the team's social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, by searching "LadyRaiderWBB." Also, make sure to follow along with the Foreign Tour at texastech.com/ladyraidersabroad.
Players Mentioned
Forward
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Guard
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Center
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