Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Head To Austin For Top 10 Showdown
January 30, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
#7/7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (18-2/4-2 Big 12)
vs. #3/4 Texas Longhorns (18-2/6-1 Big 12)
February 1, 2004 * Austin, Texas * 3 p.m.
Television - Fox Sports Net
Frank Erwin Center (16,079)
SUNDAY'S GAME
No. 7/7 Texas Tech (18-2/4-2) travels to No. 3/4 Texas (18-2/6-1) Sunday, Feb. 1 for a 3 p.m. contest. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net with Kevin Eschenfelder doing the play-by-play and Debbie Antonelli as the color analyst. The game can be heard on the All Sports Radio Network as Ryan Hyatt calls the game.
THE LADY RAIDERS
Texas Tech is 18-2 and 4-2 in the Big 12 after beating Texas A&M, 65-56, last Wednesday. On the year, freshman Alesha Robertson leads the team in scoring with a 12.1 average followed by senior Natalie Ritchie at 8.3. Senior Casey Jackson is the top rebounder, grabbing 6.8 boards per outing and junior Cisti Greenwalt is averaging 5.5 rebounds a game. Sophomore Jametra Clark is shooting 51.7 percent from the field, while Jackson is shooting 51 percent. Robertson is shooting 42.6 percent from the three-point arc, while Ritchie is shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range. Sophomore Erin Grant has a team-high 133 assists, while Jackson leads the team in steals with 27. Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with 39 blocks. The Lady Raiders are shooting 45.3 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three-point range and 72.5 percent from the free throw line. Scouting the Opponent
Texas enters the game with an 18-2 overall record and 6-1 in the Big 12 after winning at Nebraska, 82-59, last Wednesday. In that game, freshman Tiffany Jackson had game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Kala Bowers added 19 points, while senior Stacy Stephens and junior Heather Schreiber each chipped in 17 points. Stephens also had nine rebounds. Jackson tallied five assists and two blocks.
On the year, Schreiber paces the Longhorns in scoring with a 12.9 average followed by Jackson at 12.7, senior Jamie Carey at 11.0 and Stephens at 10.9. Jackson is the top rebounder as she is averaging 8.0 boards per contest. Freshman Nina Norman leads the team in assists with 84. Jackson has team highs of 41 steals and 23 blocks. Texas is shooting 47.4 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three-point range and 72.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Jody Conradt is in her 28th year at the helm of the Longhorns establishing a record of 718-204. She is also in her 35th year as a head coach with a career record of 835-266.
SERIES RECORD
It is the 69th meeting between Texas Tech and Texas with the Longhorns holding a 50-18 advantage. The Longhorns won all three games last year: 69-58 Jan. 22 in Austin, 70-67 March 2 in Lubbock and 67-57 March 15 in the finals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament in Dallas. The last time Tech was victorious was in a 61-49 win in Lubbock Feb. 6, 2002. Tech's last victory in Austin was a 76-60 triumph Feb. 24, 2001. The Lady Raiders are 5-21 against the Longhorns in Austin.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS
March 15, 2003 - Stacy Stephens scored 16 points to lead Texas to a 67-57 victory over Texas Tech in the championship game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament in Dallas. Erin Grant led the Lady Raiders with 18 points, while Plenette Pierson added 17 and Jia Perkins chipped in 14. Pierson and Casey Jackson had seven rebounds apiece. Grant also added five assists. Along with Stephens, three other Longhorns scored in double figures: Heather Schreiber (13), Kala Bowers (12) and Jamie Carey (10). Stephens and Schreiber had 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Tech shot 38.1 percent from the field to UT's 38.7 percent.
LAST TIME OUT
(AP) - Cisti Greenwalt says her goal is the same every time she gets the ball - score points.
She did that Wednesday night, matching a season-high with 19 points as No. 7 Texas Tech beat Texas A&M 65-56.
Alesha Robertson added 15 points for Tech, which rebounded from a double-overtime conference loss to Oklahoma State last Saturday.
Toccara Williams and Lynn Classen led A&M with 16 points apiece.
The Lady Raiders took control during the early stages of the second half, scoring on nine of their first 11 possessions to build a 47-38 lead with 14:09 left. Robertson scored five points during the run as Tech stretched what had been a 32-31 advantage.
Texas A&M pulled within five points with 3:30 left when Williams drove to the basket and scored while drawing a foul. She hit the ensuing free throw, cutting the margin to 61-56, but those were the last points the Aggies scored. Janae Derrick missed a layup on the Aggies' ensuing possession that would have cut Tech's lead to three points.
Tech responded with a basket by Greenwalt with 2:17 left that made it 63-56 before Erin Grant converted a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left for the game's final points.
In the opening half, Tech led by as many as seven points with 9:13 left when Chesley Dabbs scored six points in 47 seconds to give the Lady Raiders a 19-12 advantage.
But A&M ended the half with an 8-2 run highlighted by four points, and the Aggies trailed 30-29 at the break. A Look Ahead
Texas Tech will face Kansas Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in Lubbock on the Red Raider Sports Network. The Lady Raiders travel to Baylor Feb. 8 for a noon game on Fox Sports Net and will host Oklahoma Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. on the Red Raider Sports Network. Tech will hit the road for two-straight games at Texas A&M Feb. 14 and at Missouri Feb. 17 with both games at 7 p.m. Games on the Red Raider Sports Network will be televised locally on UPN Lubbock.
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 526-161 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.
FIRST TO NO. 1
Texas Tech became the first Big 12 school to be ranked No. 1 in the country since the inception of the league in 1996-97. The Lady Raiders topped the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches' Poll on Jan. 6. It marks the first time the Lady Raiders have been ranked No. 1 during the regular season and only their second ever as they were first in the final coaches poll after winning the National Championship in 1993.
NCAA STATS
As of games through Jan. 26, Texas Tech ranks second in scoring margin at 25.6, third in rebound margin at 11.6, fourth in scoring defense at 52.4, fourth in field goal percentage defense at 33.8, sixth in won-lost percentage at 89.5, seventh in turnovers per game at 13.4, eighth in scoring offense at 77.9, 12th in blocked shots per game at 5.3 and 20th in assists per game at 17.7, among all NCAA Division I teams. Sophomore Erin Grant ranks 11th in assists per game at 6.7 among all NCAA Division I players.
BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Texas Tech started the season 15-0, before losing at Iowa State, which was the best start in school history. The previous best start was when the Lady Raiders went 10-0 in 1999-2000 before falling at Iowa State, 62-37, Jan. 2, 2000.
WINNING PERCENTAGE BY CLASS
The senior class has a record of 92-27 (.773) overall and 38-16 (.704) in Big 12 regular-season play. The junior class, which consists of just one player - Cisti Greenwalt is 67-20 (.770) and 25-13 (.658) in the league. The sophomores post a 47-8 (.855) mark and 17-5 (.773) in the conference. The freshmen are 18-2 (.900) and 4-2 (.667) in Big 12 play this season.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER BANNER
Since the 1997-98 season, the Lady Raiders have hung at least one Big 12 Conference championship banner and/or an NCAA Sweet 16 or Elite Eight from the rafters each year. During that time, Tech has seen two NCAA Elite Eight banners, three NCAA Sweet 16 banners, three Big 12 regular-season champion banners, two Big 12 Tournament champion banners and a 2003 Marsha Sharp Women's Basketball Hall of Fame banner. Lady Raiders Win Third Title
Texas Tech won its third tournament title of the season when it captured the Surf 'N Slam San Diego Hoop Classic on Dec. 30. The Lady Raiders also won the Preseason WNIT and the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament.
TECH VS. THE TOP 25
Texas Tech is 5-0 this year against teams ranked in the top 25. The Lady Raiders beat No. 18/18 UC Santa Barbara, No. 15/15 Rutgers, No. 24 Washington, No. 7/7 Stanford and No. 24 Baylor.
LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY IN ALMOST 18 YEARS
Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma State 106-43, a margin of 63 points, which was the largest margin of victory of the season and it's biggest since beating Hawaii Pacific, 114-48, Dec. 7, 1985.
ONE POINT LOSSES
Texas Tech's 64-63 loss at Iowa State and 88-87 (2OT) loss at Oklahoma State were just the third and fourth times Tech has lost by just one point in the Marsha Sharp era. The last time the Lady Raiders lost by one point was in a 66-65 defeat to Texas Jan. 22, 1994. The only other one-point loss was a 66-65 loss to New Orleans in the National Women's Invitational March 24, 1982, Sharp's first year as head coach.
GREENWALT STEPPING UP
Junior Cisti Greenwalt has turned it up a notch especially in the last three games. She put up a then season-high 16 points against Nebraska and poured in season-high 19 points at Oklahoma State and against Texas A&M. She recorded her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Aggies.
A-ROB PACES TECH
Freshman Alesha Robertson scored career highs in the last three games. She tied her career-high 18 points against Baylor, set a new career-high 19 points against Nebraska and then set another career-high 27 points at Oklahoma State. Robertson paces the Lady Raiders in scoring with a 12.1 average in all games and a 16.0 average in league games.
50 PERCENT OR BETTER
Texas Tech shot 50.9 percent from the field (27-of-53) against Texas A&M, which marked the sixth time the Lady Raiders have shot 50 percent or better this season and the first time in five games.
DAVIS STEALS FROM OSU
Sophomore LaToya Davis stole a career-high five steals at Oklahoma State. Her previous career high was two on three occasions.
MOVIN' ON UP
Junior Cisti Greenwalt has moved to second on Tech's career list for blocks with 177. Standing in first is Crystal Boles (1994-98) with 191.
GRANT SCORING AND STEALING
Sophomore point guard Erin Grant has scored in double digits in three of the last four games. In the last game at OSU, she tied her season high of 12 points. Grant also had a career-high four steals at Oklahoma State.
MORE REBOUNDS
Senior Natalie Ritchie grabbed a season-high five rebounds against the Huskers.
GRANT TO NINTH
After the game against Nebraska, sophomore Erin Grant moved to ninth on Tech's career list for assists and now has 361. She is just one assist shy of tying for eighth. Spark Plug
Sophomore LaToya Davis was a spark against Baylor as she came off the bench to score 12 points and grab nine rebounds in just 18 minutes of play.
FIRST START Sophomore Chesley Dabbs got her first career start against Baylor. Dabbs scored 10 points, her third time to score in double digits this year, and grabbed three rebounds in a season-high 28 minutes.
YOUNG GUNS
In the win over Baylor, the Lady Raiders were led by three sophomores (Dabbs, Davis, Grant) and one freshman (Robertson), who all scored in double figures and combined for 51 of Tech's 64 points on the night.
LOW PERCENT FROM FIELD
Texas Tech shot a season-low 26.2 percent from the field in the victory over Baylor. Tech was 17-of-65 on the night.
HITTING FROM CHARITY STRIPE
The Lady Raiders hit a season-high 30 free throws and attempted a season-high 39 free throws against Baylor. Tech shot 76.9 percent from the line.
RITCHIE SCORES CAREER HIGH, SETS THREE-POINT RECORD
Senior Natalie Ritchie scored a career-high 27 points against OSU. She hit a school record eight three-pointers. On the night she was 9-for-11 from the field, 8-for-10 from three-point range and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.
TEAM SETS THREE-POINT MARK
The Lady Raiders sank 14 three-pointers against OSU, which was a school record. Their previous record was 12 at Iowa State Jan. 19, 2002. Tech was 14-of-18 from three-point range for 77.8 percent.
TECH BENCH OUTSCORES OSU
Texas Tech's bench combined for 45 points to outscore OSU, who had 43 points for the game.
GRANT DISHES OUT, TIES CAREER HIGH
Sophomore Erin Grant tied her career-high 14 assists against the Cowgirls.
SEASON HIGH FG PERCENTAGE
The Lady Raiders shot a season-high 61.7 percent from the field against OSU. Tech was 37-of-60 from the field.
PACKED HOUSE
Against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech had its fourth sellout crowd (15,050) since the United Spirit Arena opened in Nov. 1999. It was the first sell out of the season. Tech sold out last year against Texas on March 2.
100 POINTS, AGAIN
Texas Tech scored 106 points in its victory over Oklahoma State Jan. 10. It marked the second time this season Tech had scored at least 100 points. The Lady Raiders scored 100 against Pacific Dec. 8. The 2003-04 season is the first time Tech has scored 100-plus points more than once in the same season since the 1994-95 season. It is also the 10th season Tech has accomplishment that feat. During the 1992-93 season, Tech scored 100 or more points on six occasions, which is the most of any Lady Raider season.
NON-CONFERENCE POINT MARGIN
The Lady Raiders wrapped up non-conference play averaging 29.4 more points than their opponents.
CAREER HIGH FOR CLARK
Sophomore Jametra Clark scored a career-high 18 points in 30 minutes of play against Maryland. Clark also dished out a career-high three assists while matching her season high of six rebounds.
ROBERTSON BIG 12 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Alesha Robertson was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week Dec. 22. Robertson averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds the week of Dec. 15-21 in helping Texas Tech to wins over two top 25 teams, at No. 24 Washington and at home vs. No. 7 Stanford.
PLEASE TAKE A SEAT
Texas Tech had 14,674 fans in attendance at the Stanford game which was then the fifth largest home crowd in school history. It moved to sixth after Tech had a sellout against Oklahoma State Jan. 10.
FIRST TO 10
Texas Tech was the first top 25 team to claim 10 victories in 2003 after beating Washington Dec. 19.
TECH TIES FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED
Texas Tech held Wyoming to 26 points Dec. 6, which tied the school record for fewest points scored by an opponent. McMurry had scored 26 points on Feb. 24, 1978.
TECH HOLDS SMU TO RECORD-LOW SHOOTING PERCENTAGE
Texas Tech held SMU to just 16.9 percent from the field, which set a school record for lowest shooting percentage by an opponent. The Mustangs hit just 11 of 65 shot attempts in the game. The previous school record was 17.6 percent (12-of-68) by Southwest Texas State on Jan. 1, 1993.
JOHNSON, FLOWERS TO REDSHIRT
Freshman Enrica Johnson had meniscus repair done to her right knee on Dec. 17 and will redshirt this season. She joins freshman Tawanna Flowers who is redshirting after suffering 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 six 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 played Stanford (Dec. 21) and Baylor (Jan. 17) and will play at Texas (Feb. 1) and at Baylor (Feb. 8). Tech played at Washington (Dec. 19) on Fox Sports Northwest/Southwest. 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.
GRANT AMONG THE BEST AT HER POSITION
Sophomore Erin Grant was named one of the top five point guards in the country by ESPN.com. 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 224 weeks. That includes the Jan. 26 polls in which Tech is ranked seventh in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches' Poll and seventh in the AP poll.
FOLLOW THE LADY RAIDERS
All Lady Raider basketball games can be heard live on the All Sports Radio Network on KFYO-AM 790 and KKCL-FM 98.1 locally. Listen to play-by-play by Ryan Hyatt as he takes the court with the Lady Raiders. Lady Basketball with Marsha Sharp
Lady Raider Basketball with Marsha Sharp is televised every Sunday. The show airs on Fox 34 at 9:30 p.m. The show also airs on UPN Lubbock at 10:30 p.m.
THE Marsha Sharp RADIO SHOW
The Marsha Sharp Radio Show is held each Monday from 6-7 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena in the City Bank conference rooms located on the south end concourse. The show will air on KFYO-AM 790 and KKCL-FM 98.1 locally.
