# 2020–21 Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball team

The 2020–21 Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball team represented Texas Tech University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Raiders were led by first year head coach Krista Gerlich. They played their homes games at United Supermarkets Arena and were members of the Big 12 Conference.
Prior to the season Marlene Stollings was fired after two years as head coach. USA Today revealed in a story published on August 5, 2020, that 12 players left Texas Tech since Stollings became head coach in 2018 over accusations that Stollings and her staff were verbally abusive and subject players to dangerous forms of conditioning, for instance a requirement for players to have a 90 percent heart rate in practice and games. The day after that story was published, Texas Tech fired Stollings for cause. Shortly after her firing, Krista Gerlich was hired as the new head coach.
They finished the season 10–15, 5–13 in Big 12 play to finish in seventh place. In the Big 12 Tournament, they lost to Kansas State in the First Round. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WNIT.

## Previous season

The Lady Raiders finished the season 18–11, 7–11 in Big 12 play to finish tied for sixth place. They were scheduled to be the seventh seed in the Big 12 Tournament, but it was cancelled before it began due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA women's basketball tournament and WNIT were also canceled.

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTRGV | W 89–56 | 1–0 | United Supermarkets Arena (2,523) Lubbock, TX |
| November 28, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Houston Baptist | W 68–51 | 2–0 | United Supermarkets Arena (2,701) Lubbock, TX |
| December 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Vanderbilt Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge | Canceled | Canceled | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| December 5, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rice | L 62–81 | 2–1 | United Supermarkets Arena (2,714) Lubbock, TX |
| December 9, 2020* Noon, ESPN+ | | Angelo State | W 87–42 | 3–1 | United Supermarkets Arena (1,762) Lubbock, TX |
| December 10, 2020* Noon | | Missouri | Canceled | Canceled | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX |
| December 14, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 7 Baylor | L 45–91 | 3–2 (0–1) | Ferrell Center (2,105) Waco, TX |
| December 19, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | TCU | W 78–72 | 4–2 (1–1) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,612) Lubbock, TX |
| December 21, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern | W 79–60 | 5–2 | United Supermarkets Arena (2,610) Lubbock, TX |
| December 23, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | Morgan State | Canceled | Canceled | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX |
| December 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Incarnate Word | W 100–47 | 6–2 | United Supermarkets Arena (2,620) Lubbock, TX |
| January 2, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 48–75 | 6–3 (1–2) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (1,219) Stillwater, OK |
| January 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma | L 74–75 | 6–4 (1–3) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,493) Lubbock, TX |
| January 10, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Iowa State | L 72–99 | 6–5 (1–4) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,000) Lubbock, TX |
| January 13, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at West Virginia | L 78–83 | 6–6 (1–5) | WVU Coliseum (107) Morgantown, WV |
| January 17, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas | W 74–66 | 7–6 (2–5) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,854) Lubbock, TX |
| January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at Kansas | W 75–65 | 8–6 (3–5) | Allen Fieldhouse (333) Lawrence, KS |
| January 23, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at TCU | L 53–61 | 8–7 (3–6) | Schollmaier Arena (1,165) Fort Worth, TX |
| January 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | West Virginia | L 53–73 | 8–8 (3–7) | United Supermarkets Arena (1,989) Lubbock, TX |
| January 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., LHN | | at Texas | L 53–72 | 8–9 (3–8) | Frank Erwin Center (0) Austin, TX |
| February 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas State | W 83–75 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (4–8) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,014) Lubbock, TX |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Iowa State | L 73–92 | 9–10 (4–9) | Hilton Coliseum (789) Ames, IA |
| February 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 7 Baylor | L 50–82 | 9–11 (4–10) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,086) Lubbock, TX |
| February 13, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma State | L 66–81 | 9–12 (4–11) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,256) Lubbock, TX |
| February 20, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas | W 99–98 $^{OT}$ | 10–12 (5–11) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,310) Lubbock, TX |
| February 24, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas State | L 79–86 | 10–13 (5–12) | Bramlage Coliseum (684) Manhattan, KS |
| March 1, 2021 6:00 p.m., BSO | | at Oklahoma | L 79–88 | 10–14 (5–13) | Lloyd Noble Center (487) Norman, OK |
| Big 12 Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (10) Kansas State First Round | L 65–75 | 10–15 | Municipal Auditorium (662) Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked and Did not receive votes |
The Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll and the AP Poll did not release a poll after the NCAA Tournament.