Lady Raiders leave Canada knowing defense needs work

AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

After a week of sightseeing, ziplining, whale watching, whitewater rafting and basketball, the Lady Raiders returned to the United States on Sunday.

The Texas Tech women's basketball team spent the night in Seattle and will head back to Lubbock today, fresh off its international tour of British Columbia.

The team won all four of its games during the trip, culminating in a 100-34 victory against Vancouver Island University on Saturday.

When the Lady Raiders begin practice for the 2010-11 season on Oct. 2, they'll have a much clearer picture of what to focus on.

"Defense," sophomore point guard Monique Smalls said. "We slacked off a little on defense and we need to pick it up instead of (coach Kristy Curry) having to tell us."

That was clear to Smalls in the team's game against the University of British Columbia on Tuesday. The Lady Raiders led 34-29 at halftime and went on to win 85-49.

The defense picked up, Smalls said, and gave the team an opportunity to widen its lead.

"We got some great film clips to work with," Curry said. "There's certainly a lot we can build on."

Smalls said the trip gave her and the returning players an opportunity to see what the team's new faces could do, and she wasn't disappointed.

Smalls started Tech's first game alongside transfer Casey Morris and said the two immediately had a rhythm.

"I like a fast game and she does too," Smalls said. "So it's cool to have someone to play the fast game with and push the ball in transition."

That sort of communication and understanding is exactly what Curry hoped the team would get out of the trip, off the court and on.

Curry spread the playing time around and used different starting lineups for each of the team's eight halves.

On Saturday, she started three sophomores and two freshmen, including Smalls, Mary Bokenkamp, Christine Hyde, Ebony Walker and Haley Schneider.

Hyde scored 14 points to lead the team, and Antiesha Brown chipped in 13. Teena Wickett, Kierra Mallard, Morris and Bokenkamp scored 12 apiece.

Kelsi Baker, who was limited in practice and in the first three games with a hamstring injury, didn't get into Saturday's game.

Smalls said the incoming freshmen benefitted tremendously from these early games and wishes she'd had a similar experience a year ago.

"It gave them a feel of what to expect," Smalls said. "And how one person can mess up an entire play. It's not like high school where if one person messes up, it's OK. We threw a lot at them."

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