by By Tyler Jones
(Lawrence, Kansas) – From Tuba City, Arizona to Lawrence, it was quite the journey for Jaime Roe to get to Wednesday night’s game against the Kansas Jayhawks. Roe, currently serves as a role player for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders and has not forgotten what got her to this point.
The Junior Forward graduated high school in 2012 and was Arizona Small High School Player of the Year. After two years of junior college at Central College in Arizona, Roe found herself making Lubbock, Texas her new home, playing for Texas Tech under Head Coach Candi Whitaker.
While she grew up in a Navajo community, Roe was considered a minority where she grew up in Arizona. While Roe is not Navajo, she is a part of the Cherokee Nation. Roe says she has not forgotten where she came from though, “I’m not Navajo, but it’s totally awesome to represent them. Coming from there and being born and raised, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for them.”
On Wednesday, there was a crowd of 1,937 in attendance and a portion of them were Native Americans, in support of Roe, including a group from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. Roe spoke about it and said, “It is awesome to have people I know and look up to me. I’m so thankful to be an idol for them. For me to have an opportunity like this, I couldn’t be more grateful.”
For the season, Roe has averaged 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds on the year for Texas Tech and on Wednesday, she outplayed her season numbers. Roe accounted for 6 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to Kansas, 71-67. Roe spoke about her performance and said, “I’m just happy to get the opportunity to do so, having my coach trust me and my teammates trust me to come off the bench and make the plays that I do. I can’t be anymore thankful.”
After the loss, Roe’s Texas Tech team fell to 13-9 and 3-7 in the Big 12, but they’re not done yet. Roe said, “It doesn’t get any easier playing in the Big 12. It is going to be a battle for sure.” Roe will travel on the road four more times this year (TCU, Kansas State, Iowa State and Baylor), as well as four more home contests (Iowa State, Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State), before the Big 12 Tournament next month in Dallas.
GAME RECAP
It was snowing outside in Lawrence, the baskets were also dropping inside the home court of College Hoops, Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. Two Big 12 Women’s Basketball contenders were hungry for a win, as the (13-8, 3-8 Big 12) Texas Tech Red Raiders came to town to take the Kansas Jayhawks (12-10, 3-6 Big 12).
While the Jayhawks have struggled this season, the team has been riding high lately, winning three out of their last four games. For Texas Tech, they came into Wednesday looking to rebound after losing four out of their last five games. Texas Tech was looking to avenge their two point loss to Kansas at home, from just three weeks ago. It was a must-win game for both teams to say the least.
In the first half, Kansas led most of the way, with a beautiful display of shooting at 54% from the field. On the other side, Texas Tech found themselves hanging with Kansas, shooting 46%. Leading scorers in the first for Texas Tech included Ivonne Cook Taylor with 10 points and Dayo Olabode with 5 points. Eight out of nine players for Texas Tech scored in the 1st. For Kansas, Freshman Guard Lauren led the way with 8 points in the first, while Terriell Bradley was not too far behind, with 7 points herself. The Jayhawks led at the break 36-33.
After trailing in the first half, Texas Tech came out in the second in attack mode, taking their largest lead of the game at the 10:35 mark, up 53-46. Texas Tech’s defense held Kansas to 33% shooting from the field in the first 8:44 minutes of the 2nd half. The Jayhawks responded with a run of their own though and lead by 11 with just 3:02 to go. Texas Tech rallied again, making it a four-point game in the final seconds, but this time it was too late. The Jayhawks never looked back and defeated Texas Tech by a final score of 71-67.
Kansas registered five players in double-figures points wise on Wednesday, Chelsea Gardner (19), Lauren Aldridge (13), Natalie Knight (12), Asia Boyd (10) and Chayla Cheadle (10). The Jayhawks also shot 49% from field goal range. Coach Bonnie Hendrickson was pleased with her offense, “We took high percentage shots and had big momentum plays.”
For Texas Tech, Ivonne Cook Taylor led all scorers with 23 points and Rayven Brooks also had a big night with 15 points herself. Other notable scorers for the Red Raiders included Ryann Bowser (6), Kelsi Baker (6), Jamie Roe (6) and Dayo Olabode (5). After the game Junior Forward Jaime Roe said, “We just didn’t come out as strong as we should of and when we got up by seven, we just did not keep the gas pedal down.”
After the loss, Texas Tech moves to 13-9 and 3-7 in the Big 12. Saturday the Red Raiders will look to get back on track, as they take on TCU in Ft. Worth. As for Kansas, they move up to 13-10 and 4-6 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks will take on Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse this Saturday for their first of two matchups with the Cowgirls this season.
One thought on “Texas Tech’s Jamie Roe is a Fan Favorite Among the Navajo and Native American Community”
Comments are closed.