One Texas Tech basketball player made history this week.
Stephanie Okechukwu made her debut on Thursday night against UNC Charlotte, becoming the tallest women’s college basketball player in history at 7-foot-1.
The Umunneochi, Nigeria native scored the first Texas Tech points of the season with two free throws after winning the opening tip. She finished her debut with six points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes in the 64-37 win.
“I’m excited for her and it’s only going to get better,” head coach Krista Gerlich said postgame. “There is definitely more.”
Okechukwu was granted four years of eligibility by the NCAA earlier this week at Texas Tech’s behest after only being allowed two years of eligibility, despite the Red Raiders being her first stop playing college basketball.
The NCAA originally considered Okechukwu to have taken a gap year since she graduated from high school in Kyoto, Japan in 2024 before playing AAU in the Philippines. The 21-year-old, who signed with the program in January but did not play last season, is listed as a sophomore on Texas Tech’s roster.
Okechukwu only learned that she would have four years to play college ball recently. The team posted a video of associate coach and general manager Erik DeRoo breaking the news to Okechukwu on Wednesday.
Now that she can finish her degree with four years in Lubbock, Okechukwu plans to major in business.
Fans got their first glimpse of Okechukwu in an exhibition game against Angelo State on October 18th, when she scored 18 points with five rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes. Texas Tech won 81-40.
Okechukwu has the chance to play an important role for the Lady Raiders, who went 26-8 last year for their best record since the 2002-’03 season, but only saw two players return.
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