Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Meet Oklahoma In Sweet Sixteen
March 19, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2002
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NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16 - West Regional
No. 4 seed #17/17 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (20-11)
vs. No. 1 seed #2/2 Oklahoma Sooners (29-3)
March 23, 2002 - Boise, Idaho - 9:30 p.m. MST
Television - ESPN
Boise State University Pavilion (12,300)
Saturday's Game
No. 4 seed and 17th-ranked Texas Tech will take on No. 1 seed and second-ranked Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament of the West Regional on Saturday, March 23 at 9:30 p.m. MST on ESPN at the Boise State University Pavilion in Boise, Idaho. Pam Ward and Carolyn Peck will be calling the game for ESPN. The winner of the game will advance to the Elite Eight and take on the winner of the No. 2 seed Stanford/No. 3 seed Colorado game on Monday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. MST.
The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 20-11 on the year after beating Mississippi State, 77-55, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Raiders are led in scoring by sophomore Jia Perkins at 16.1 points a game and senior Amber Tarr at 12.0. Sophomore Natalie Ritchie is averaging 10.8 points. Sophomore Jolee Ayers and freshman Cisti Greenwalt are both averaging 6.6 rebounds per outing. Perkins has a team-high 84 steals and senior Candi White leads the team in assists with 141. Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with 60 blocks followed by Ayers with 28. Ellison is shooting 57.3 percent from the field and Ayers is shooting 50.9 percent, while Tarr is shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range. On the year, the Lady Raiders are shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from the three-point arc and 64.5 percent from the free throw line.
Scouting the Opponent
No. 1 seed and second-ranked Oklahoma enters the game with a 29-3 record after beating Villanova, 66-53, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In that game, senior LaNeishea Caufield scored a game-high 30 points followed by junior Caton Hill with 15. Caufield and freshman Dionnah Jackson each had seven rebounds. Senior Stacey Dales tallied six assists.
On the year, Caufield paces the Sooners in scoring with a 17.4 average followed by Dales at 16.9, Hill at 12.5 and senior Rosalind Ross at 10.8. Hill is the top rebounder, grabbing 6.5 boards per outing. Dales leads the team in assists with 157 and Caufield has a team-high 85 steals. Ross and Jackson each have nine blocks. OU is shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from three-point range and 73.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Sherri Coale is in her sixth year at the helm of the Sooners, establishing a record of 110-72.
Series Record
Texas Tech holds a 17-7 advantage over Oklahoma after OU won both games this year. OU was victorious, 80-68, in Lubbock on Jan. 5 and 75-56, in Norman Feb. 27. The last time Texas Tech beat the Sooners was in an 86-81 triumph in Lubbock, Feb. 19, 2000.
Last Time vs. Oklahoma
February 27, 2002 - (AP) Fifth-ranked Oklahoma claimed a 75-56 victory over No. 15 Texas Tech.
Stacey Dales had 17 points, 14 in the second half, and LaNeishea Caufield scored 18 as Oklahoma beat Tech for the fourth straight time.
The Sooners held Tech to a season-low 31 percent shooting. The Lady Raiders, who had shot 52 percent during the three-game winning streak they carried into this game, missed several open shots inside.
Natalie Ritchie led Tech with 18 points. Leading scorer Jia Perkins had just eight, half her average, on 4-of-19 shooting.
Dales, just 1-of-4 from the field with four turnovers in the first half, started the second half by scoring inside and then hitting a 3-pointer to give the Sooners a 38-25 lead. She added a three-point play later as Oklahoma pushed the lead to 45-31.
After Ritchie scored seven straight to get Tech within 45-38, Oklahoma scored seven in a row to again go ahead by 14. They Sooners took a 61-46 lead on two free throws by Rosalind Ross with 4:07 left before Lady Raiders scored eight straight to get within 61-54 with 2:25 to got. It was all Oklahoma the rest of the way.
The Lady Raiders took an early five-point lead before Oklahoma went on an 8-0 run. The teams stayed within a few points of each other for the next several minutes, and Tech took what proved to be its final lead, 20-18, on a jumper by Ritchie with 7:06 left.
Another 8-0 run, which included 3-pointers by Ross and Caton Hill, gave Oklahoma a 27-20 lead. The Sooners held an eight-point advantage at halftime despite committing a dozen turnovers.
Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament
Texas Tech is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 13th-consecutive bid into the event. The Lady Raiders have advanced to the Sweet 16 eight times, the Elite Eight three times, the Final Four once and won the National Championship in 1993. It is the fourth-straight time Tech has advanced to the Sweet 16.
A Win Saturday Would...
...give Tech a 21-11 record.
...mark Tech's fourth time to advance to the Elite Eight
...give Marsha Sharp her 480th career victory.
Lady Raider Head Coach Marsha Sharp
One of the most respected and well-known coaches in Texas Tech history, head coach Marsha Sharp is 479-152 in her 20th year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. Entering the 2001-02 season, Sharp was the seventh active winningest coach among Division I coaches. She has led the Lady Raiders to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 12 consecutive, and eight NCAA Sweet 16 and three Elite Eight appearances and the NCAA National Championship in 1993. Sharp led the Lady Raiders to three-straight Big 12 Conference regular-season titles (1998-2000) and two tournament crowns (1998, 1999). While in the SWC, coach Sharp and the Lady Raiders never finished below third, they won or shared the last five championships, and they captured three Post-Season Classic titles.
A 1974 graduate of Wayland Baptist University, Sharp was named the National Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994. She also reaped SWC Coach of the Year honors seven times, five consecutively.
Last Time Out
(AP) - Amber Tarr scored 25 points, and Cisti Greenwalt added 19 as Texas Tech defeated Mississippi State 77-55 in the second round of the West Regional.
The win earned Tech its fourth straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Lady Raiders will play Saturday in Boise, Idaho, against the winner of the Oklahoma-Villanova game Monday night in Norman, Okla. Tech, the fourth seed, brought a swarming defense, double teaming the Lady Bulldogs' top scorer LaToya Thomas almost every time she got the ball in the paint. Mississippi State pulled within six points with about 11 minutes remaining.
In the first half, Tech held Mississippi State scoreless for more than eight minutes and kept the top two scorers - Thomas and Tan White - to just seven points.
Meanwhile, Tech scored 11 straight to lead 17-5.
Tarr's performance matched her career high and ended a four-game shooting slump in which she made only 9 of 38 shots. Greenwalt had 11 rebounds, and Jia Perkins added 10 points.
Thomas scored 15 points, and Jennifer Fambrough added 14 for MSU.
Tech 9-3 in First and Second Round
Texas Tech is 9-3 in NCAA Tournament first round games and 9-3 in the second round after beating Stephen F. Austin, 84-63, March 15 and Mississippi State, 77-55, March 17.
20th 20-Win Season
Texas Tech got its 20th 20-win season and its 13th-straight 20-win season with the win over Mississippi State. Tech also had three 30-win seasons within those 13-straight 20-win seasons.
Tech First Big 12 School to Win at All League Schools
With Texas Tech's win at Iowa State, Jan. 19, Tech became the first school in the league to win at least one game at all Big 12 schools since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
All-Conference Honors
Sophomore Jia Perkins was named second team All-Big 12, while senior Amber Tarr was an honorable mention selection by the Big 12 coaches. Perkins was also named second team All-Big 12 by the Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman and San Antonio Express-News. Perkins was selected to the Kansas City Star's All-Defensive team, while sophomore Jolee Ayers was selected to its All-Improved team.
Lady Raiders 4-6 on TV
Texas Tech is 4-6 on regional or national television after beating Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on ESPN Fullcourt. Tech lost at Duke on ESPN and beat Vanderbilt on syndicated television, while beating Texas on Fox Sports Net and Wisconsin on espn2. Tech lost at Texas on Fox Sports Southwest, while losing at Kansas State, at home against Colorado, at Oklahoma and vs. Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament onFox Sports Net.
Tech vs. Top 25
Texas Tech is 5-8 against teams in the top 25 this year after losing to No. 7 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament March 6. The Lady Raiders have wins over Vanderbilt, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas and Wisconsin and losses against Duke, Oklahoma (twice), Texas, Kansas State, Colorado and Baylor (twice).
7-0 When 50 Percent or Better
The Lady Raiders are 7-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better. Tech shot at least 50 percent against Kansas (50%), Baylor (50.7%), at Texas A&M (57.4%), Wisconsin (54.2%), Nebraska (55.1%), Missouri (52.7) and Stephen F. Austin (57.1%) to win all seven games.
Tarr, Greenwalt Tie Career High vs. Lady Bulldogs
Senior Amber Tarr and freshman Cisti Greenwalt both tied their career high in points against Mississippi State. Tarr poured in 25 points, while Greenwalt added 19. Tarr has had 25 point on three occasions in her career and Greenwalt had 19 points earlier this year at Baylor. Tarr also tied her career high of eight rebounds. She has had eight rebounds three times while at Tech.
20+ Points
Texas Tech won both of its first two games of the NCAA Tournament by 20 or more points. The Lady Raiders handed Stephen F. Austin a 21-point loss, 84-63, while giving Mississippi State a 22-point defeat, 77-55.
Fourth Double-Double for Greenwalt
Freshman Cisti Greenwalt had her fourth double-double of the year with 19 points and 11 rebounds vs. Mississippi State.
