Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Prepare For Tournament Semifinals
March 13, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 13, 2003
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Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament Semifinals
No. 3 Seed #8/9 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (25-4)
vs.
No. 2 Seed #7/5 Kansas State (28-3)
March 13, 2003 * Dallas, Texas * 8:30 p.m.
Television - Fox Sports Net
Reunion Arena (16,500)
Thursday's Game
No. 3 seed and eighth/ninth-ranked Texas Tech (25-4) will take on the No. 2 seed and seventh/fifth-ranked Kansas State (28-3) on Thursday, March 13 at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Reunion Arena in Dallas. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net. The game can be heard on the All Sports Radio Net work as Ryan Hyatt calls the game.
The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 25-4 on the year and finished the Big 12 with a 13-3 record. On the year, senior Plenette Pierson leads the team in scoring with a 17.7 average followed by junior Jia Perkins at 16.6. Pierson is the top rebounder, grabbing 7.6 boards per outing. Pierson is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and sophomore Cisti Greenwalt is also shooting 50.9 percent. Junior Miklannet Tennal is shooting 39.7 percent from three-point range, while junior Natalie Ritchie is shooting 33.3 percent. Freshman Erin Grant has a team-high 199 assists, while Perkins leads the team in steals with 72. Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with 74 blocks. The Lady Raiders are shooting 46.8 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from three-point range and 66.1 percent from the free throw line.
Scouting the Opponent
No. 2 seed Kansas State enters the game with a 28-3 overall record and finished second in the Big 12 regular season with a 14-2 record. In the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament, KSU defeated Baylor, 77-60. In that game, sophomore Laurie Koehn scored a game-high 22 points followed by sophomores Kendra Wecker and Megan Mahoney had 15 apiece and Nicole Ohlde added 14. Mahoney and sophomore Chelsea Domenico both had seven points. Domenico dished out eight assists, while had five blocks.
On the year, Wecker paces the Wildcats in scoring with a 19.2 average followed by Ohlde at 18.5, Mahoney at 14.0 and Koehn at 12.9. Ohlde is the top rebounder as she is averaging 9.0 boards per outing. Mahoney leads the team in assists with 148, while Wecker has a team-high 53 steals. Ohlde is the top shot blocker with 62 blocks. Deb Patterson is in her seventh year at the helm of the Wildcats with a career record of 125-87. Series Record Texas Tech holds a 7-3 advantage over Kansas State as the Lady Raid-ers have won six of the last seven games. Tech defeated KSU, 73-64, last Thursday (March 6) in Lubbock. Last year, the Wildcats beat Tech, 76-63, Jan. 27 in Manhattan, Kan.
Last Time vs. Kansas State
March 6, 2003 - Jia Perkins' big game cost Kansas State a share of the Big 12 Conference title.
Perkins connected on all eight of her first-half shots and scored 26 points as No. 8 Texas Tech defeated No. 4 Kansas State 73-64. Plenette Pierson added 23 points for Tech.
Tech's victory allowed No. 5 Texas to capture the league title. The Long-horns will enter next week's conference tournament as the top seed. Kansas State, which had won 22 of its past 23 games, had its nine-game winning streak snapped.
The Lady Raiders pulled ahead late in the first half. The Wildcats had closed within five, 26-21, with 7:41 remaining, but Tech went on a 15-1 run over the next five minutes and seized a 41-22 lead at the 2:40 mark. Pierson and Perkins combined for nine points during the spurt.
Kansas State started the second half quickly, pulling within 11, 48-37, behind three baskets by Nicole Ohlde, but the Lady Raiders answered with eight straight points, taking a 56-37 at the 15:20 mark of the second half. The Wildcats moved within 62-49 with 7:53 remaining on a three-point play by Ohlde, but Tech countered with baskets by Pierson, Perkins and LaToya Davis to make it a 68-49 lead with 6:10 left to play. Kansas State cut a 16-point lead to nine with 1:08 left. Ohlde had three points as the Wildcats scored the final seven points of the game.
Kansas State was the highest-ranked opponent defeated by Tech since Dec. 29, 2001, when the Lady Raiders beat No. 3 Vanderbilt 81-71. Ohlde and Wecker each scored 22 points for the Wildcats.
Last Time vs. Out
(AP) - When things got tight, Jia Perkins decided it was time to make something happen.
So the Texas Tech forward shook loose of defenders and shot her high-arching jumper over and over again.
Perkins scored nine of her 20 points during a decisive second-half surge as No. 8 Texas Tech held off Oklahoma State 75-52 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament. Texas Tech (25-4) struggled to shake 11th-seeded Oklahoma State for much of the contest. The teams were tied at 32 going into halftime after Oklahoma State's Shelby Hutchens tipped in a missed shot just before the buzzer.
But Perkins took over in the second half, scoring nine points during a 24-2 spurt as the Red Raiders extended a 43-41 lead into a 24-point advantage.
Perkins left the game for good with 5:55 left to applause from the Reunion Arena crowd of 5,735. Tech was up 67-43 at the time. Plenette Pierson added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Raiders.
Oklahoma State (8-20), which shocked sixth-seeded Missouri the night before, ran out of energy before it could pull off its second stunner in as many days. The Cowgirls shot 29 percent in the second half. Trisha Skibbe led the Cowgirls with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, but sat out much of the second half in foul trouble.
A Look Ahead
After the Big 12 Tournament concludes, Texas Tech will host first- and second-rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Lubbock March 23 and 25.
Lady Raider Head Coach Marsha Sharp
One of the most respected and well-known coaches in Texas Tech his-tory, head coach Marsha Sharp is 504-157 in her 21st year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. Entering the 2002-03 season, Sharp was the seventh active winningest coach among Division I coaches. She has led the Lady Raiders to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 13 consecutive, and nine 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. Sharp was also the head coach of the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team, which won the gold medal in Brazil.
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.
500 and Counting
Head coach Marsha Sharp claimed her 500th-career victory with a 59- 48 win over Oklahoma Feb. 19. Sharp became just the 22nd NCAA Division I coach to reach the 500 plateau.
Tech in the Big 12 Tournament
Texas Tech improved its record to 10-4 in the Big 12 Conference Tourna-ment after beating Oklahoma State, 75-52, in the quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders are making their fifth appearance in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Tech holds a 2-2 record in the semifinals. The last time Tech played in the semifinals was in 2001, losing to Iowa State, 73-62. The last time the Lady Raiders advanced to the finals of the league tournament was in 1999 after beating Nebraska, 77-59, in the semifinals. Tech went on to defeat Iowa State, 73-59, in the championship game. The Lady Raiders have captured two Big 12 Conference Tournament titles (1998, 1999).
All-Big 12 Honors
Senior Plenette Pierson and junior Jia Perkins were named first team All-Big 12, which was voted on by the league coaches. Erin Grant was se-lected as Co-Big 12 Freshmen of the Year. Pierson was also named first team All-Big 12 by the Dallas Morning News, while Perkins was a second-team selection. The Dallas Morning News named Pierson to the All-Senior team and Grant was selected to the All-Freshman team, while Perkins made the All-Defensive team.
Perkins Up To Ninth in Scoring
Junior Jia Perkins scored 21 points against Oklahoma State (3/12) to move her to ninth on Tech's all-time scoring list. She currently has 1,428 points.
Tech Knocks Off Top 10 Team
Texas Tech defeated No. 4 Kansas State, 73-64, March 6 in Lubbock which was the first win over a top 10 team since beating No. 9 Iowa State, 78- 66, Jan. 19, 2002. It was also the first time the Lady Raiders have beaten at top five team since defeating No. 3 Vanderbilt, 81-71, Dec. 29, 2001.
Perkins, Pierson Lead Attack
Junior Jia Perkins poured in 26 points while senior Plenette Pierson added 23 in leading Texas Tech to upset No. 4 Kansas State. Perkins Has All-Around Game, Named Big 12 Player of the Week Not only did junior Jia Perkins scored 26 points against No. 4 Kansas State, she also added five rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. For her performance, she was named Big 12 Player of the Week March 7.
Seventh Game of 10+ Assists for Grant
Freshman Erin Grant recorded her seventh game of 10 or more assists as she tallied 10 against Kansas State.
Award Finalists
Senior Plenette Pierson has been named a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award and the Senior CLASS Award, while freshman Erin Grant is a nominee for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is presented to the top point guard in the country. Head coach Marsha Sharp is a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year.
Academic All-Big 12
Senior Jamie Nagle and juniors Jolee Ayers and Casey Jackson were named first team Academic All-Big 12, while junior Natalie Ritchie was se-lected second team Academic All-Big 12. It was the second first-team honor for Ayers and Jackson and Nagle's first. Ritchie also received her first aca-demic conference honor.
NCAA Stats
As of games through March 3, sophomore Cisti Greenwalt ranks ninth in blocked shots per game (2.7) and freshman Erin Grant is 10th (top freshman) in assists per game (6.8) among all NCAA Division I players. As a team, Texas Tech ranks second in blocked shots (7.1), fourth in field goal percentage defense (33.9), ninth in scoring margin (18.9), 11th in won-lost percentage (85.2), 12th in rebound margin (8.2), 13th in scoring offense, 16th in field goal percentage (46.7), 16th in turnovers per game (14.7), 25th in scoring de-fense (57.7) and 29th in assists (16.8).
21st 20-Win Season
Texas Tech got its 21st 20-win season and its 14th-straight 20-win sea-son with the win over Texas A&M. Tech also had three 30-win seasons within those 14-straight 20-win seasons. Big 12 and Tech Record Texas Tech holds the Big 12 and school record for blocks in a season with 198.
Stealing Jia
Junior Jia Perkins collected a career-high seven steals at Nebraska. Her previous career high was six, which she had on five occasions. Perkins ranks fourth on Tech's all-time list for steals with 250.
