Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Battle UC Santa Barbara In Preseason WNIT Semifinals
November 19, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2003
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#5/7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (2-0)
vs.
#18 UC Santa Barbara (2-0)
Preseason WNIT - Semifinals
November 20, 2003 * Lubbock, Texas * 7 p.m.
United Spirit Arena (15,050)
Thursday's Game
No. 5/7 Texas Tech will take on No. 18 UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT in Lubbock on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena. The winner of the game will face the winner of the No. 15 Rutgers-Michigan contest in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 12:30 p.m. CST.
The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 2-0 after beating Western Kentucky, 88-47, in the quarterfinals of the Preseason WNIT last Sunday. On the year, senior Jia Perkins leads the team in scoring with an 18.5 average followed by freshman Alesha Robertson at 12.0. Perkins is the top rebounder, grabbing 8.0 boards per outing. Sophomore Jametra Clark is shooting 66.7 percent from the field and Perkins is shooting 52 percent. Sophomore Erin Grant has a team-high 10 assists, while Perkins leads the team in steals with five. Junior Cisti Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with five blocks. The Lady Raiders are shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from three-point range and 75.8 percent from the free throw line. Scouting the Opponent
UC Santa Barbara enters the game with a 2-0 record after beating No. 19 Utah, 52-44, on Monday. In that game, senior Lisa Willett and junior Kristen Mann each had 11 points followed by junior Mia Fisher with 10. Senior Lindsay Taylor and freshman Jenna Green each grabbed six rebounds, while senior April McDivitt tallied three assists and three steals.
On the year, Mann paces the Gauchos in scoring with a 13.0 average followed by Willett at 12.0. Mann is the top rebounder, averaging 6.5 boards per outing. McDivitt has a team-high eight assists. UCSB is shooting 49 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from the three-point line and 60.9 percent from the free throw line.
Mark French is in his 17th year at the helm of the Gauchos establishing a record of 334-148. He is also in his 25th season as a head coach with a career record of 432-262.
Series Record
Texas Tech is 2-0 against UC Santa Barbara. The Lady Raiders and the Gauchos recently met up in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March. Tech beat UCSB, 72-68, March 25 in Lubbock to advance to the Sweet 16. Tech's other win against UCSB came when the Lady Raiders beat the Gauchos, 102-69, Dec. 3, 1982 at the San Jose State Classic in Marsha Sharp's first year as Texas Tech's head coach.
Last Time Out
(AP) - Jia Perkins scored 18 points and No. 10 Texas Tech beat Western Kentucky 88-47 Sunday in a women's Preseason NIT quarterfinal round game.
Jametra Clark scored 15 points, LaToya Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Alesha Robertson added 10 points for Tech (2-0). Camryn Whitaker led the Lady Toppers (1-1) with 11 points, and Carla Bartee finished with 10.
Perkins scored Tech's first eight points, and the Lady Raiders held Western Kentucky without a field goal for the first 7:03.
Elisha Ford hit an 18-footer as Western Kentucky closed within 21-13 with 7:31 left in the first half. But the Lady Raiders broke the game open, closing the half with a decisive 18-3 run.
At one point, Tech scored on five consecutive possessions. Robertson's 3-pointer highlighted the stretch, punctuated by consecutive layups by Clark and Davis, extending the lead to 36-16 with 2:19 left in the half.
Tech offset a three-point play by Whitaker with four free throws in the closing seconds to take a 39-16 lead at the break.
Tech stretched its lead to 30 points at 60-30 with 11:41 left. A 3-pointer by Brooke Baughman with 4:27 remaining extended Texas Tech's lead to 80-40.
A Look Ahead
If Texas Tech beats UC Santa Barbara, the Lady Raiders will take on the winner of the Rutgers-Michigan contest on Sunday, Nov. 23 in the championship game at 12:30 p.m. CST. The finals will be televised on various networks across the U.S. Tech will play in the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament in Dallas Nov. 28-29. The Lady Raiders will take on Michigan on the 28th at 5 p.m., while SMU and Texas-Arlington square off at 7 p.m. The winners of those games will battle it out at 7 p.m. on the 29th and the consolation game is slated for 5 p.m. Tech will return home for three-straight games: California (Dec. 1), Wyoming (Dec. 6) and Pacific (Dec. 8).
Lady Raider Head Coach Marsha Sharp
One of the most respected and well-known coaches in Texas Tech history, Hall of Fame head coach Marsha Sharp is 510-159 in her 22nd year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. She has led the Lady Raiders to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 14 consecutive, and 10 NCAA Sweet 16 and four 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. In May 2003, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Double Duty Day for Davis
Sophomore LaToya Davis turned in her first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Western Kentucky. It marked her third double-double of her career.
Clark A Spark Off the Bench
Sophomore Jametra Clark came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points against Western Kentucky in 16 minutes of play. Last season, Clark had a then career-high 11 points against Texas A&M in Lubbock.
Freshman Has Back-to-Back Double Digits
Freshman Alesha Robertson made her collegiate debut with back-to-back double digit scoring games. Robertson chipped in 14 against UTSA and 10 against Western Kentucky.
100 Percent
Sophomore Erin Grant shot 100 percent from the field, three-point range and from the free throw line against Western Kentucky. Grant was 2-for-2 from the field, including 1-for-1 from the three-point line, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Up the Scoring List
Senior Jia Perkins moved into seventh place on Tech's all-time scoring list after the game against Texas-San Antonio. Perkins has 1,541 career points after two games this season.
Tech Ties School Record Turnovers
Texas Tech tied its school record for fewest turnovers in a game with five against Texas-San Antonio. The Lady Raiders also had five turnovers against Texas A&M on Jan. 31, 1983.
Perkins Has Career Highs
Senior Jia Perkins grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Texas-San Antonio and tied her career high of three blocks. Perkins' previous career high in rebounds was 12 against Creighton last year. She now has had three blocks on four occasions.
Double Action
Senior Jia Pekins put up a double-double against UTSA as she finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. It marked the fifth double-double of her career.
Dabbs, Jackson Swat High
Sophomore Chesley Dabbs swatted a career-high two blocks vs. Texas-San Antonio. Her previous high was one, five times last season. Against Western Kentucky, senior Casey Jackson tallied a career-high three blocks. Her previous high of two blocks came last year against Wyoming.
Hitting from the Charity Stripe
Texas Tech saw improvement from the free throw line against UTSA. The Lady Raiders connected on 26-of-32 free throw attempts for 81.3 percent. Last year in the season opener, Tech only shot 65 percent from the line (13-of-20) against Louisiana Tech. 76 Wins This Time In its opening game of the season, Texas Tech scored 76 points en route to beating UTSA. It was the exact same number of points Tech scored last year in its opening loss to Louisiana Tech.
Flowers to Redshirt
Freshman Tawanna Flowers will redshirt the 2003-04 season. Flowers suffered a navicular fracture in her right foot during her senior season and is currently rehabbing the injury.
On the Tube
The Lady Raiders will make five national or regional television appearances in regular-season play this season. Texas Tech will appear on ESPN2 once and Fox Sports Net four times. On Fox Sports Net, Tech will play Stanford (Dec. 21), Baylor (Jan. 17), at Texas (Feb. 1) and at Baylor (Feb. 8). On Feb. 22, the Lady Raiders will play Texas on ESPN2. Tech will also have 11 games broadcasted on the local Red Raider Sports Network.
Preseason All-Big 12 By Coaches and Media
Senior Jia Perkins was named preseason All-Big 12 by the coaches and the media. Joining Perkins on the team were Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker and Texas' Heather Schreiber and Stacy Stephens.
Wade Watch
Senior Jia Perkins was one of 35 players selected as a preseason candidate for the State Farm Wade Trophy/Division I Player of the Year Award by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Perkins Preseason Wooden Award and Naismith Candidate
Senior Jia Perkins was named to the John R. Wooden Preseason All-America team and was one of 30 players chosen as a candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, which will be presented annually to the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player. She is also one of 30 preseason candidates for the Naismith Player of the Year Award.
Perkins, Grant Among the Best at Their Positions
Senior Jia Perkins was named one of the top five off-guards in the country by ESPN.com, while sophomore Erin Grant was selected as one of the top five point guards. Joining Perkins on the list were Alana Beard (Duke), Kelly Mazzante (Penn State), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota). Along with Grant, Jamie Carey (Texas), Temeka Johnson (LSU), Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers) and Erika Valek (Purdue) made up the top five selections.
Lady Raiders in the Polls
Since January 20, 1992, the Lady Raiders have been ranked in the Top 25 in the Associated Press and/or the USA Today poll a total of 215 weeks. That includes this year's preseason polls in which Tech is ranked fifth in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA top 25 and seventh in the AP poll.
