Texas Tech beats UCSB to make final of women's preseason NIT

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Cal Santa Barbara had the size, but No. 7 Texas Tech had the speed. And the 18th-ranked Gauchos had no answer for that Thursday night.
The Lady Raiders, using their athleticism at both ends of the floor, beat Santa Barbara 68-41 in the semifinals of the women's Preseason NIT.
Senior guard Jia Perkins had 22 points for Tech (3-0), which will play host to No. 15 Rutgers in Sunday's championship game.
"We were aggressive and more athletic in several spots," Lady Raiders coach Marsha Sharp said. "When you play people who are that much bigger than you, you have to let your athleticism take over. I thought our post players did a great job of playing physical. They tried to keep their players from going where they wanted to go."
Twenty-point lead
Texas Tech used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to put away Santa Barbara (2-1). The Gauchos pulled within 41-30 on a 3-pointer by Brandy Richardson with 14:25 remaining and Tech scored on its next five possessions to make it 50-30 with 11:21 to play.
Natalie Ritchie hit three free throws, LaToya Davis scored inside and Chesley Dabbs connected on a 10-footer before Casey Jackson capped the run with a layup off a great pass by Dabbs.
Perkins then added four points and Jametra Clark finished the run by scoring inside for a 56-30 lead with 8:25 remaining. The Gauchos never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Ritchie finished with 11 points for Tech, which held its third straight opponent to fewer than 50 points.
Lindsay Taylor had 12 points for the Gauchos.