Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Host Jayhawks On Wednesday
February 03, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2004
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Wednesday's Game
No. 9/9 Texas Tech (18-3/4-3) hosts Kansas (9-9/2-5) on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena. The game will be televised on the Red Raider Sports Network, locally on UPN Lubbock, with Vinnie Vinzetta doing the play-by-play and Crystal Boles 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 18-3 and 4-3 in the Big 12 after losing at No. 3/4 Texas, 82-73, last Sunday. On the year, freshman Alesha Robertson leads the team in scoring with a 12.3 average followed by senior Natalie Ritchie at 8.1. Senior Casey Jackson is the top rebounder, grabbing 6.7 boards per outing and junior Cisti Greenwalt is averaging 5.4 rebounds a game. Sophomore Jametra Clark is shooting 51.6 percent from the field, while Jackson is shooting 51 percent. Robertson is shooting 41.5 percent from the three-point arc, while Ritchie is shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range. Sophomore Erin Grant has a team-high 137 assists, while Jackson leads the team in steals with 27. Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with 39 blocks. The Lady Raiders are shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three-point range and 72.9 percent from the free throw line.
Scouting the Opponent
Kansas enters the game with a 9-9 overall record and 2-5 in the Big 12 after beating Oklahoma State, 74-61, last Saturday. In that game, sophomore Crystal Kemp scored a game-high 24 points, while junior Aquanita Burras chipped in 14. Sophomore Erica Hallman and freshman Lauren Ervin each added 13 points. Ervin grabbed nine rebounds and Hallman tallied six assists.
On the year, Kemp paces the Jayhawks in scoring with a 14.7 average followed by Burras at 11.1. Ervin is the top rebounder as she is averaging 6.9 boards per contest. Hallman leads the team in assists with 54, while sophomore Tamara Ransburg has team highs of 39 steals and 30 blocks. Kansas is shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from three-point range and 69.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Lynette Woodard is the interim head coach for the Jayhawks as Marian Washington has taken a medical leave. Woodard has a 1-0 record.
Series Record
Texas Tech holds a 6-3 advantage over Kansas after beating the Jayhawks, 84-57, in Lawrence Feb. 1, 2003. Tech has won the last four meetings. The last time Kansas won was Jan. 23, 1999 in a 55-45 triumph in Lawrence. The Lady Raiders are 3-1 in Lubbock against the Jayhawks.
Last Time vs. Kansas
Feb. 1, 2003 - Plenette Pierson poured in a game-high 29 points in leading Texas Tech to an 84-57 victory over Kansas. Jia Perkins added 13 points for the Lady Raiders. Pierson was the top rebounder with six boards, while Erin Grant dished out five assists. The Jayhawks were lead by Aquanita Burras who had 16 points. Crystal Kemp chipped in nine points and Tamara Ransburg had eight rebounds. Tech shot 58.6 percent from the field to Kansas' 34.6 percent.
A Look Ahead
Texas Tech travels 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. The Lady Raiders will host Texas Feb. 22 on ESPN2 at 1 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 526-162 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.
