Krista Gerlich and Noel Johnson were teammates and national champions together at Texas Tech University. They have faced each other as head coaches before, but this time it was different.
On Wednesday, both coaches met up on opposing sides of the court in support of something bigger than basketball.
With Johnson’s battle in mind, Gerlich’s UTA and Johnson’s Midwestern State University women’s basketball teams faced off in an exhibition at College Park Center to open their seasons. Johnson was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer back in April, sparking an outpouring of support.
“I really wanted to show my team and her team what basketball and what teammates and college and everything that you go through, what it’s going to do for you 20, 25 years down the road,” Gerlich said.