Krista Gerlich to match wits with former WT assistant Kevin Baker when Texas Tech hosts UTEP
Krista Gerlich got an early jump on preparing for Texas Tech's opponent Thursday.
That's because Gerlich has been an avid follower of the UTEP women's basketball team for some time now. The Lady Raiders coach said she keeps up with the Miners to stay up to date with one of her friends, Kevin Baker.
Baker, now in his sixth season leading UTEP, was an assistant under Gerlich at West Texas A&M from 2007-12. The Buffaloes reached the NCAA Division II Tournament four times in that span, and now each of them has their respective teams back in the postseason after lengthy absences.
The former colleagues will match wits when Tech hosts UTEP in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday.
"He and I are really good friends," Gerlich said. "I keep up with him. I sent him a text after he got (Conference USA) co-coach of the year, all the things. So it's kind of interesting. It's fun that we get to play them, and it'll be good to see him."
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Baker garnered the award after guiding the Miners (20-11) to a fourth-place finish in the CUSA. This is the program's first postseason berth since the 2015-16 season.
Baker shared coach of the year with Rick Insell of Middle Tennessee State, which won the regular-season and conference tournament titles. MTSU eliminated UTEP 68-62 in the CUSA semifinals Friday.
Elina Arike, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, earned CUSA defensive player of the year. The forward spearheads that side of the ball for UTEP, which has Gerlich's full attention. She said Baker's emphasis on defense is a shared ideal.
"I know his teams play really hard. They're very defensive-oriented," Gerlich said, "and he does a great job on the defensive end. We have some of the same philosophies when it comes to that. I know that they will execute well. … There's a lot of things that I see that he does that I think that we've learned together. And then there's a lot of things that he's certainly added that I've been really impressed with, as far as how he runs his team."
Gerlich also complimented the Miners' athletic, aggressive guards. Jazion Jackson, a first-team all-CUSA selection, is second on the team with 11.8 points per game, tied with guard N'Yah Boyd. Boyd transferred in the offseason after making 11 starts as a freshman at Oklahoma State.
Arike leads UTEP with 12.0 points per game. Six-foot forward Adhel Tac averages a team-best 6.0 rebounds, followed by Jackson with 5.8.
"I think (their) guard play is really good," Gerlich said. "I think they have several kids that can hurt you if you're not ready to defend them. The inside is big. They dominate the paint a little bit. … The fact that they're balanced makes them difficult and a tough challenge."
Tech (18-14), back in the postseason for the first time in 10 years, fell 79-69 to Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament last week. First-team all-Big 12 guard Bre'Amber Scott led the Lady Raiders with 27 points, her 10th game scoring at least 20.
But it was the loss of forward Katie Ferrell that hurt Tech the most. Ferrell sat out while in concussion protocol, but Gerlich said the senior "should be good to go" Thursday and could have played had the Lady Raiders advanced in the conference tournament.
The 6-1 Ferrell averages 4.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
"She covers up for a lot of people and a lot of mistakes," Tech freshman guard Bailey Maupin said following the loss to KSU. "She has a lot of experience in places that some of us underclassmen like myself don't have. Although she doesn't score a lot of points every game, she does everything else. She was a big piece that we were missing tonight."
Women's National Invitation Tournament
First round
Who: UTEP and Texas Tech
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: United Supermarkets Arena
Records: UTEP 20-11; Texas Tech 18-14
Radio: 107.7 FM
Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia and @annierice_photo on Twitter for live updates, with postgame analysis and photos at lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Ex-West Texas A&M coaches Krista Gerlich, Kevin Baker to face off in first round of WNIT
