Sports

Texas Tech Basketball Coach Refuses To Shake Former Assistant’s Hand After Traitorous Move To Rival

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Texas Tech women's basketball coach Krista Gerlich pictured beside West Virginia assistant JC Carter.

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The Texas Tech women’s basketball team was blown out at home by Big 12 rival West Virginia on Wednesday night, 89-53. After the game, a peeved Krista Gerlich refused to shake the hand of a Mountaineers staff member.

That staffer was Associate Head Coach JC Carter, a former Red Raiders assistant under Gerlich. Apparently, some feeling of animosity still linger following his departure from Lubbock.

Carter was hired to the TTU staff by Gerlich ahead of her first season with the program. The two joined forces to go 10-15 in that debut, which represented the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history.

Two years later, the team won 20 games, the highest output in a decade. After the season ended, Carter bolted for West Virginia.

The move was a lateral one in terms of title as he’d previously held the same position at Texas Tech. The program saw an immediate dip the following year with a 17-16 output as it missed out on the NCAA Tournament for an 11th straight season.

This year, the Red Raiders got off to a 12-4 start. They’d hoped to continue that forward momentum while hosting the Mountaineers. Gerlich would have the opportunity to show Carter what he’d walked away from. It unfortunately went as badly as possible.

Texas Tech was down 42-17 by halftime, a hole it would be unable to climb out of. The deficit had grown to 36 points when the final buzzer sounded.

After the game, Gerlich skipped past Carter in the handshake line. Coincidence or intentional? You be the judge!

 

The loss was Texas Tech’s largest of the season, and it continued what’s now a three-game losing skid following a 12-2 start. West Virginia, meanwhile, improved to 13-2 on the year.

JC Carter got the last laugh, while Krista Gerlich caught flak for her handshake line blowby.

The Red Raiders won’t get the chance to avenge the blowout loss unless the two sides meet again in the Big 12 Conference Tournament.