The Lady Raiders sported pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness on Wednesday at their Pink Out game against West Virginia University.
Tech took the win with a final score of 76-63, and Casey Morris led the Lady Raiders to victory with 20 points.
The Lady Raiders were 36-42 from the free throw line, which is something they have been working on, Morris said.
“It just shows how dedicated we are to getting better every day,” she said. “We have been going to practice each day and working on our free throws, and it has shown on the court. We knew it would eventually pay off.”
Head coach Kristy Curry said she thought her team did a great job of being aggressive.
“You’ve got to attack pressure with pressure, and you can’t be passive,” Curry said. “That’s just the bottom line, that’s our philosophy.”
Curry said she thinks WVU is a very good defensive team.
“The thing that makes them even more special is they go nine deep, and you can’t tell a difference of who’s on the floor,” she said. “They are so talented and so athletic.”
WVU head coach Mike Casey said his team has been shooting well lately, but their shots just weren’t falling that night.
“Tech did a good job driving us, they really did,” Casey said. “They lower their shoulder and get in there, and they either make you foul them or they score.”
“I give them a lot of credit, and I’m not taking anything away from them,” he said. “They play hard, they play as hard as anybody we play.”
Morris said a key component of their success was staying calm on the court.
“I think we showed a lot of good leadership,” she said. “We have been in that situation before where we’ve had teams pressure us and try to get us out of our comfort zone, but we stayed composed and just let the game come to us.”
Morris said during the game she and her teammates took their time on plays and tried not to rush through anything.
“We brought what we have been working on in practice to the game,” she said. “We just stayed relaxed even when they weren’t pressing.”
Curry said she thinks her team played against WVU without any fear.
“It’s just about being aggressive and having the confidence to be aggressive,” she said. “We have talked a lot over the past few days about pushing back, and you’ve got to have that mentality about everything you do. I’m really proud of us sticking with the game plan like the kids did.”
Coach Curry said their win was dedicated to the breast cancer survivors who attended the game on Wednesday.
“I told our kids after the game that I thought they played every bit about what the cause was tonight,” she said. “To see those ladies in our pre-game locker room and what they are fighting every day, what we’re doing is easy. This was for all of those ladies out there on that floor tonight.”
Morris said the most important thing to her team was letting the breast cancer survivors know that the Lady Raider basketball team supports them and was playing for them.
“When they think they are coming to our game to support us, we support them even more,” she said. “We are with them through the fight, and we want them to know that we’re on their side each day. We played for them, and I’m so glad we could win for them.”
About Morgan Crump
