Lady Raiders won't let history affect future

Brittney who?

That might as well have been the reaction from the Texas Tech women’s basketball team one day before facing Baylor for the first time since last season’s fracas at United Spirit Arena.

The Lady Raiders say they’ve moved on as they head to the Ferrell Center for a showdown with top-ranked Baylor at 7:30 p.m. today.

“We put it in the past and it continues to be where others want to bring it to the forefront,” Tech coach Kristy Curry said. “If you’ve noticed from my comments it hasn’t been talked about, won’t be talked about. We’ve moved past that. It’s a different team, a different year. Those two young ladies just need to be allowed to play the game.”

Brittney Griner was ejected from the Tech-Baylor game on March 5 of last year after delivering a roundhouse punch that stained her reputation and broke the nose of Jordan Barncastle.

Griner was given a mandatory one-game suspension by the NCAA to which Baylor coach Kim Mulkey added an additional game.

Barncastle missed Tech’s regular-season finale, a 58-55 overtime loss to last-place Missouri, which might have cost the Lady Raiders an NCAA tournament appearance.

Barncastle was not made available to the media Friday, but if there is any lingering bitterness, the rest of the Lady Raiders aren’t showing it.

“It’s in the past,” point guard Monique Smalls said. “We’ve moved on.”

Tech also doesn’t seem too concerned about what might be the most hostile crowd it will see this season.

“It’ll be the same as all the other crowds,” junior Kierra Mallard said.

Tech (16-2, 3-1 in Big 12 Conference), which entered the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll this week at No. 25, is facing a No. 1 team for the first time since Feb. 22, 2004, when the Lady Raiders beat top-ranked Texas in Lubbock.

Griner leads the Lady Bears (17-1, 4-0), averaging 22 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Baylor is riding a 14-game winning streak and has won the last nine against Tech.

Curry said she hasn’t needed to and won’t have to say anything to Barncastle before the game.

“We haven’t talked about it,” she said of Barncastle. “We’re motivated to go play at Baylor because it’s the next game on our schedule.”

Even though Tech is coming off its first loss of Big 12 play, a 71-61 defeat to No. 14 Oklahoma, the Lady Raiders feel confident against a second consecutive ranked team

Tech shot nearly 50 percent in the loss, dominated the paint and led at halftime.

If the Lady Raiders can stay out of foul trouble and limit their turnovers — after giving up 25 at Lloyd Noble Center — they feel they will not only be in the game, but can upset the Lady Bears.

“We still haven’t had our best game. We haven’t peaked,” Smalls said, “We can’t let the little things affect us. One 50-50 ball could affect the whole game. One rebound that we should have gotten and put back could affect the game. We have to execute.”

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