2026 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 5, 2026

Krista Gerlich

Snudda Collins

T-Mobile Center

Texas Tech Lady Raiders

Postgame Press Conference

Kansas State 58, Texas Tech 51

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Texas Tech head Coach Krista Gerlich and Snudda Collins. Coach, get us started.

KRISTA GERLICH: That was a tough one. You know, I give all the credit to Kansas State for continuing to fight, and they played with a lot of desperation late in the fourth quarter and found ways to win.

I felt like our kids put us in position to win, and we just couldn't put it away. Our theme the entire week was "finish," and particularly finish the game, and I don't think we did that. I thought we got a little comfortable after the first quarter, and they let them take us out of what we were doing. Not necessarily because of what they were doing, but I thought mentally we started trying to do some things that we didn't need to do because what we were doing was working.

I thought in the third quarter we came back and kind of locked back in. Obviously up 14 in the fourth. That's when we have to really lock in and finish. I know there was a timeout at 5:15, I believe, and I told the girls, like, we got to finish this game right here, and we just didn't. We didn't do what we needed to do offensively or defensively.

I think it's one thing if you miss shots on offense, but when you're defending as well as we were for three quarters, three -- probably three quarters and a quarter of a quarter, right -- I mean, they had 37 points probably seven minutes to go in the fourth. Just keep defending. Just keep defending. Keep defending and find a way to finish the game.

But I know our kids are really going to look back on this one as one that got away from them, and it's unfortunate, but we feel very confident that we're still playing, so that's a good thing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Coach, you kind of mentioned it. Y'all just needed to finish, but was there some sort of an adjustment that was trying to be had there against that zone late and just what was happening that wasn't able to score?

KRISTA GERLICH: I think K-State did a good job of every time we inserted Jada Malone, they went zone. I just think our kids weren't being intentional with what we normally do. We didn't get great looks in the short corner. We didn't attack to make two take us.

We tried to run a set or two, and I didn't really want to run a set that got us a three, because I wanted us to get to the rim. We didn't do either. Yeah, we just didn't take good shots against it. We weren't intentional to try to get the best shot we could.

Q. You mentioned getting to the rim. Especially in the third quarter, even early in the game, Snudda, Jalynn were getting some really good mismatches. Did they change something in the fourth that got away, or were you all just not able to find that?

KRISTA GERLICH: I think we tried a couple of times to run a couple of sets, and we either turned the basketball over or took a tough contested two and didn't get the call to get to the free-throw line.

But, you know, I think we did a good job of isolating them. We got a couple of looks in the paint, and then we didn't go back to it. We tried to go back to it, but for whatever reason, it wasn't happening for us. We were just making some silly mistakes.

Q. Snudda, kind of a similar question, but you had ten points at halftime. I think you had four, not as many shots even in the second half. Was there something specifically going on for you?

SNUDDA COLLINS: Nothing specifically. It's just us together, just poor execution, not taking care of the ball and doing what Coach Gerlich was asking us to do.

Q. You're a senior. There's a lot of seniors on this team. I'm sure the locker room is not a happy place right now, but what is the message to kind of wash this and move forward to what's next?

SNUDDA COLLINS: I mean, we're just blessed enough to be able to play again. We have to make those adjustments and learn that moving forward that we have to finish those games.

Q. Snudda, will you just share your thoughts on the floor and how that felt playing on it?

SNUDDA COLLINS: I just know now it's March. The window for error is just really small, and I know that every night from now on that I have to bring what I bring to the team, and it's scoring and also helping my team on the defensive end, but I just know I have to be aggressive every single night.

Q. Coach, you guys were able to hold Tess Heal to two points through the first three quarters, and then she has eight in the fourth quarter. What was kind of the game plan going into in there, and then what was she able to do to help push K-State over the line there at the end?

KRISTA GERLICH: Clearly they have got some really good shooters on the floor, and then Tess is an overall great player. I thought our defensive game plan was really good, and I thought we gave them a lot of trouble, obviously holding them to 37 for three quarters. I think Tess just decided to take over the game, to be honest. She's that type of player.

They got to the rim a couple of times on us, and we didn't keep them in front of us. Our communication on our ball screens was not great, and it was great for three quarters, so I don't know why it changed in the fourth. So we had some miscommunications there, and they were able to get inside the 3-point line and get to the lane and get to the rim.

Then you're either giving up kick-out threes or and-ones, and clearly we would rather give up twos than threes, but we can't foul them when they're trying to score it as well.

Q. One thing I know about this team is you're probably one of the best bounce-back teams I've seen play this year. This will have to be the ultimate bounce-back. What is it going to take, and how have you guys been able to be that team all year long?

KRISTA GERLICH: I think because we have upperclassmen, for one thing. They've always taken responsibility. They've always been held accountable. That's the thing about it.

In that locker room in just a few minutes -- I haven't even addressed them yet. I know that they're all looking inward, and they have to look inward first, right? We all do. As coaches, I do too.

What they don't do is they don't look outward and find someone to blame. I think that's the great makeup of this team is that they are truly a team, and they really want to individually do well for the team.

So I think the challenge in this is that it's going to be such a long time before we play again. I mean, clearly we had sights on winning a championship and being able to advance in this tournament, and we really thought we had that opportunity.

So I know it's going to take us a little while to get over that, but we have to, right? We have to let it go. We have to gather together and decide as a team that we really want to continue to play together. That's going to have to happen in the NCAA Tournament now, which is fantastic, but at the same time, now you know it's one and done.

Q. Just with the fourth quarter in general, it's kind of become a theme over the last bit. Is there a way to change that, or what is the answer to that?

KRISTA GERLICH: We definitely have to figure that out, yeah. The last three games has not been our best in the fourth quarter.

Yeah, I don't know. I think we'll have to go back and watch film and really talk to our kids and just figure out how we can hold them together better and help them through that.

Again, I was trying to keep them calm throughout that, because I think there was a lot of panic. I think right before the game started I told them that pressure is a privilege. Not that they needed to feel pressure, but at the same time, it's where we are, and that's what you do when you win, you finish, and you're the higher seed in this first round, and you got to play like it.

I feel like we really let the pressure get to us late. I even said in a timeout, I said: You guys are playing not to lose. You have to play to win. You have to play to win.

And I just felt like we never got over the hump to do that. We have to figure that out very quickly.

Q. Snudda, you obviously were Sixth Player of the Year in the conference. Can you talk a little bit about that journey, your story, that you were away from basketball and kind of what that means to you to be able to come back and win that award?

SNUDDA COLLINS: Of course. Obviously, I did not know that I would be playing basketball again, but of course, Coach Gerlich gave me the opportunity.

Honestly from the beginning that was something we talked about. That's something that I put on my goals. I trusted her, and I just followed through, and here we are.

Q. Do you think that that can maybe help you in these tough times like this where you know what it feels like for basketball to be over and to be gone, and you've come back and to be able to wash this, move on from it, because we got basketball left to play?

SNUDDA COLLINS: Absolutely. That's been our motivation this entire season. Experiencing that one year, you definitely miss it a lot. Right now I'm in my last year, so I want to make it last as long as possible.