Texas Tech women’s basketball continued its work in the transfer portral with the announcement of another signing Tuesday.
Rhema Collins, the former Conference USA player of the year, signed with the Lady Raiders after one season at Florida International. She began her career with two seasons at Ole Miss.
Collins was the engine for a Panthers team that reached the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The 6-foot-2 guard led the team in points (17.1 per game), rebounds (8.9) and blocks (1.4). Collins was 12th in the country with 121 offensive rebounds.
In addition to player of the year honors, Collins also made the CUSA all-defensive team.
“Rhema Collins could be the hidden gem of the portal,” Tech coach Krista Gerlich said. “An athletic, versatile 3-4-5 player who will go get the ball off the rim. She’s aggressive to the basket and led the nation in drawing fouls last season. She is a steal threat on defense and can stretch to the three or post up smaller defenders. Rhema will be a lot to handle on both ends of the court. I love her work ethic, coachability and competitive spirit. She is another instant Lady Raider Nation favorite.”
Collins is Tech’s third addition from the transfer portal. The Lady Raiders are replacing nine players from their squad that ended the program’s NCAA Tournament drought after 13 seasons.
Tahys Da Silva was the first announced signing. The 6-0 guard played the past two seasons at Salt Lake Community College, where she led the team in points with 14.3 per game in ’25-26. She shot 39.6% from beyond the arc in her two years.
Tech has recently recruited junior-college players such as Sarengbe Sanogo and Julie Nekolná.
“Tahys is an All-American with elite three-point shooting ability,” Gerlich said. “She is one of the most efficient players in the nation. A big, athletic guard with great passing as well, fits into our system perfectly. Her length will impact our perimeter defense along with her impressive work ethic. She is another French connection for the Lady Raiders that will continue to elevate our program.”
Purdue’s Kiki Smith is another product of juco ball. The new Tech signee began at Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, before other one-year stops at Arkansas and Purdue.
Smith started 21 games for the Boilermarkers, averaging 10.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals. She surpassed 20 points in a game twice last season, with a high of 24 against Penn State.
“We have loved Kiki Smith over her career because of her scorer’s mentality,” Gerlich said. “She has a quick release and efficient three-point shot but is also very capable of getting downhill and finishing at the rim or finding teammates with her passing ability. She has proven herself as a double figure scorer in the SEC and Big 10, and we feel our system will elevate her performance even more. Kiki has an incredible work ethic, disciplined mindset and easy-to-follow leadership style. I love her joy for the game and infectious personality, too. Lady Raider Nation will instantly be big Kiki Smith fans.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: ‘Hidden gem of the portal’ adds to Texas Tech women’s basketball signees
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
