A national champion and Texas Tech legend during her time as a student-athlete, head coach Krista Gerlich came back to West Texas in 2020-21, and in her first year at the helm of the program took the first steps toward returning Lady Raider Basketball to the elite of women’s college basketball.
Despite not arriving in Lubbock until August for her first season as head coach at her alma mater, Gerlich hit the ground running and led the Lady Raiders to a successful first season of the new era that brought plenty of firsts. Gerlich led the Lady Raiders to the most conference wins under a first-year Texas Tech head coach in 14 years, while steadily improving throughout the season. Under her guidance, Tech also recorded its highest conference finish under a first-year head coach in the Big 12 era.
Gerlich coached the Lady Raiders to the program’s first win over in-state rival Texas since 2013. The Longhorns were ranked No. 20, and the victory also went down as the first top-25 win under a first-year Lady Raider head coach since 2007. Gerlich’s squad knocked off a pair of Big 12 opponents in overtime in 2020-21 as well, which marked the first time ever that the Lady Raiders have knocked off two conference opponents in overtime in the same season.
In her first season, Gerlich oversaw the development of Lady Raider standout Vivian Gray, who became the program’s 27th All-American when she was named a WBCA Coaches All-America selection. Gray had a career season in which she averaged 19.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals, while ranking in the top 20 of the Big 12 in scoring (No. 4), blocks (No. 4), minutes (No. 4), rebounding (No. 8), FG% (No. 10), FT% (No. 11), A/TO ratio (No. 16), steals (No. 16) and assists (No. 17). Gray was named a First Team All-Big 12 selection in her first season playing under Gerlich, and was a top-10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, given to the top small forward in the nation.
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