Once Opponents, Now Co-Captains: Fritz & Maupin Lead Texas Tech Past Arkansas on '93 Team Ring of Honor Night

If Sunday was a celebration of the greatest team in Texas Tech women’s basketball history, the current Lady Raiders made sure their performance felt like a worthy tribute. On the day the 1993 National Championship team was officially inducted into the Ring of Honor, Texas Tech delivered an 80–68 win over old Southwest conference foe Arkansas. A wire-to-wire showing built on the same principles that defined the iconic group being honored: chemistry plus hard nosed and unselfish play.

No one articulated those principles better than Hall of Fame coach Marsha Sharp, who reunited with her former players this weekend and reflected on what separated that championship team from the rest of the country.

“They were incredibly talented, and we had the national player of the year that was a part of us. But they were also so selfless; they didn’t care who scored. If Sheryl [Swoopes] needed to score 40 points, they were happy for that to happen — they just wanted to win, and that caring for each other and being a real team is what separated them from so many people we played against that year.”

That unselfishness is something Sharp said she has seen building in this year’s team. When asked whether she sees that herself, current head coach and a player on that National Championship team, Krista Gerlich didn’t hesitate.

“100%. To be honest, that’s how I coach — that’s what I learned. Teams that are connected can do really special things, and I think we’ve done a really good job getting the right kids in that locker room, but also really working on keeping them connected and building relationships. If we can create that type of chemistry and trust amongst one another, we will have elite success.”

From Opponents to Co-Captains: Bailey Maupin & Denae Fritz

If the foundation of this year’s team mirrors the unselfishness of the 1993 champions, much of its heartbeat comes from the two players now holding captain honors: Denae Fritz and Bailey Maupin. The pairing feels natural today, but it was anything but predictable when their careers began on opposite sides of a Big 12 rivalry.

Fritz started at Iowa State. Maupin at Texas Tech. Their early matchups were physical, competitive and filled with some back and forth banter as you would expect from two hard-nosed players. That edge only served to bond them quicker once wearing the same colors.

“Me and Denae had our moments, I’m sure,” Maupin said with a grin thinking back to those matchups as a freshman. “But there’s nobody else that I want to walk to the middle of the floor with before games or play next to for our last year.”

Fritz echoed it just as clearly: “It’s so fun playing with her on the court… way better playing with her than against her.”

Gerlich said the pairing works because they’re cut from the same competitive cloth.

“We knew, no doubt, when we brought Denae in, we were like, huh, this will be interesting. But they hit it off from the get-go because they respect one another — they respect toughness, they respect focus, they respect winning. And that’s what both of them want.”

Both captains scored in double figures on Sunday, combining for 31 points, and delivering big shots in big moments to keep Arkansas from ever getting closer than nine despite multiple second-half pushes. Maupin finsihed through contact multiple times late in the game on buckets, sharing a flex on ’em and chest bump moment from Fritz afterwards. Then Fritz answered a few possessions later with a athletic finish in the air through multiple defenders off a back cut to maintain the team’s momentum.

Fritz said those late possessions reflected the trust they’ve built.

“In close games… we need to be more focused and locked in, but I thought we did well today. I thought the huddle’s were really good. We always have each other’s back.”

Maupin agreed, pointing to their communication in the fourth quarter:

“We were really good at communicating what we were in and just getting stops when we needed them.”

And they weren’t alone. Maupin and Fritz were joined by three others in double figures — Bristow (11), Collins (15), and Núñez (10) — while Jada Malone added nine, leaving Tech just a point shy of six players in double figures.

Gerlich said that kind of balance is exactly why the Lady Raiders stayed in control even when tired legs and missed free throws let Arkansas chip away a bit in the second half.

“I love the parity in our team… we shared the basketball and found the mismatches we wanted. People stepped up and just fought hard.”

With weapons coming from different places each half, the Lady Raiders always had an answer. In the first half it was Jalynn Bristow and Jada Malone, in the second half it was Snudda Collins, Gemma Núñez and the two captains finishing the job.

It’s that type of balance that has helped Texas Tech have at least four double figure scorers in each game, including five versus Arkansas.

Everything Else

Gemma Núñez hit a big late second-half three — a shot that pushed the lead back to double digits — and finished with 10 points, her second game in double figures this seaso.

Jalynn Bristow and Snudda Collins have now both opened the season scoring double figures in all five games.

Jada Malone fell one point shy of joining the double-figure club for her second straight contest with 9 points, adding toughness around the rim and several key offensive boards in the second quarter that settled Tech after Sanogo got into foul trouble.

Despite “dead legs,” as Gerlich described it, Tech held Arkansas — a team averaging nearly 90 points per game — to just 68, roughly 20 below their season average.

The Lady Raiders forced 14 first-half turnovers, more than the Razorbacks typically commit in an entire game (12), and held them to just 7 fast-break points when they average over 20 a game.

Texas Tech never trailed and led wire-to-wire, stretching the margin to as many as 20 and never allowing it to fall below nine in the second half.

What’s Next: Mississippi State 11/20 in Lubbock 6 PM

Texas Tech (5-0) will finish off their six-game home stand to start the season with Mississippi State (4-0) on Thursday night at 6pm. The Bulldogs enter perfect on the season with their most recent game coming 11/13 in a win 82-55 over Jackson State.

Game will be broadcast on ESPN+.