Women's Basketball Opens Season at UCF Knights Classic
November 06, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Texas Tech vs. UCF
November 9, 2007 • UCF Arena (10,000)
Orlando, Fla. • 6:30 p.m. CST
Texas Tech vs. Northeastern
November 11, 2007 • UCF Arena (10,000)
Orlando, Fla. • 10 a.m. CST
The Game
Texas Tech tips-off the season on Fri., Nov. 9, against UCF at 6:30 p.m. CST in the UCF Knights Classic in Orlando, Fla. Tech will also face Northeastern on Sun., Nov. 11, at 10 a.m. CST in the UCF Knights Classic.
On the Air
The games can be heard on the radio on the Texas Tech Sports Network with play-by-play by Ryan Hyatt, locally in Lubbock on KFYO-AM 790 and KKCL-FM 98.1. Fans can also listen to the games on the internet at www.texastech.com through RaiderVision All-Access.
The Lady Raiders
Head coach Kristy Curry returns just six letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's team, but welcomes a top 10 recruiting class of seven junior college transfers along with two players who redshirted last season. Tech's top returning scorer is sophomore Jordan Murphree who was second on the team in scoring with a 9.1 average. Lone senior Erin Myrick averaged 8.5 points per outing and was second on the team in rebounds at 7.0. Also returning for the Lady Raiders are juniors Tiny Henderson and Teddy Griffin and sophomores Raquel Christian and walk-on Natalie Thomas. Senior Tawanna Flowers tore her ACL in October, which ended her playing career. Joining the sophomore class is Maddy Brown who redshirted last year after transferring from Pittsburgh. Brown will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after breaking her right foot. Junior walk-on Kalee Davidson also redshirted in 2006-07 after playing her first two years at UC Irvine. Five new juniors - Stanecia Graham (Cloud County Community College), Maria Moore (College of Southern Idaho), Alana Rumph (South Plains College), Dominic Seals (South Plains College) and Keisha Walker (Fort Scott Community College) and two sophomores Ashlee Roberson (South Plains College) and Kaylan Talley (Clarendon College) round out the squad. Seals was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Talley will redshirt this season after tearing her ACL during the summer.
Scouting the Opponents
UCF is opening the season against the Lady Raiders. The Knights return just one starter and two letterwinners from a team that went 8-22 last year. UCF's top returning scorer is junior Amber Long, who averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 2006-07.
Northeastern opens the UCF Knights Classic by playing Coppin State on Nov. 9, prior to taking on Tech on Nov. 11. Northeastern went 4-26 last season and returns all but one starter from a year ago and eight letterwinners. The Huskies' top returning scorer is senior Shaleyse Smallwood, who averaged 16.0 points, along with 3.5 rebounds per outing.
The Coaches
Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry is in her second year at the helm of the Lady Raider basketball program and enters the season with a 15-16 record. Curry is in her ninth year as a head coach with a career record of 194-67.
Joi Williams is in her first year as coach of the Knights and in her fifth year as a head coach with a career record of 54-61.
In her second year at Northeastern, Daynia La-Force Mann has a record of 4-26. She is in her third year as a head coach with a career record of 28-33.
Series Records
Texas Tech is 1-0 against UCF in its only meeting. The Lady Raiders were victorious, 77-43, Dec. 19, 1999, in Orlando, Fla.
It is the first meeting between Texas Tech and Northeastern.
Season Openers
Texas Tech is 21-11 in season openers and 1-0 in the Kristy Curry era. Last year, Tech defeated Texas-San Antonio, 66-58, in its season opener on Nov. 10, in Lubbock.
Last Time Out
With seven healthy new faces and only six returners from last year, Texas Tech showed it could take a close game and create a large deficit, as the Lady Raiders defeated the Houston Jaguars, 100-82, Sunday in a exhibition game at United Spirit Arena.
Tech led from the very beginning, coming out on a 21-9 run in the game's first six minutes. The Lady Raiders entered the half leading 55-46, backed by senior Erin Myrick's 18 first-half points.
The Jaguars would pull to 66-63 with 12:20 remaining in the second half, before Tech would go on a 34-19 run to close the game.
Four Lady Raiders totaled double-digit points, led by Myrick with 24. Junior Keisha Walker trailed closely with 21, while junior Dominic Seals had 19 and sophomore Jordan Murphree had 12.
Both Seals and Myrick posted double-doubles as the duo combined for nearly half of the team's rebounds, accumulating 26 combined. Seals finished with 15, while Myrick had 11. Junior Stanecia Graham also had double-digits boards with 10. The Lady Raiders out-rebounded the Jaguars 53-36.
Despite shooting 9-for-17 from behind the arc, Tech was held to 43 percent from the field, going 31-for-73.
A Look Ahead
Texas Tech returns to Lubbock for its home opener on Tues., Nov. 13, against IPFW at 7 p.m. This game will be televised on the Texas Tech Television Network. Tech will travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV on Sat., Nov. 17, at 9 p.m. CST. Before returning home to host the Basketball Travelers Classic Nov. 22-24. Along with Tech, Alcorn State, Idaho State and Kennesaw State will all participate in the classic. On Thurs., Nov. 22, Kennesaw State and Alcorn State will play at 4:30 p.m. followed by Tech and Idaho State at 7 p.m. On Fri., Nov. 23, Alcorn State and Idaho State will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. followed by Tech and Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. On Sat., Nov. 24, Idaho State and Kennesaw State will square off at 12:30 p.m. followed by Tech and Alcorn State at 3 p.m. on the Texas Tech Television Network. The Lady Raiders host Sam Houston State on Tues., Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. on the Texas Tech Television Network.
Closing in on Win 200
Head coach Kristy Curry enters the season just six wins shy of her 200th career win. Her career record winning percentage (.743, 194-67) ranks 11th among active Division I coaches entering the 2007-08 season.
New Faces
Seven junior college transfers grace this year's roster and two players who redshirted last season. Dominic Seals (Dallas), the 2007 State Farm/WBCA Junior College Player of the Year from South Plains College is joined by fellow SPC teammates Alana Rumph (Keller) and Ashlee Roberson (San Antonio). From Cloud County Community College is Stanecia Graham (Aurora, Ill.) and from the College of Southern Idaho is Maria Moore (Sparks, Nev.). Keisha Walker (Kansas City, Mo.) played two years at Fort Scott Community College, while Kaylan Talley (Waco) played one year at Clarendon College. Roberson and Talley both have three years of eligibility. Talley will redshirt this year after tearing her ACL during the summer. Sophomore Maddy Brown will see action after redshirting last season after transferring from Pittsburgh, and junior walk-on Kalee Davidson also redshirted last year after playing two years at UC Irvine. Brown will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks to start the season after breaking her right foot.
Class Breakdown
This year's team consists of just one senior - Erin Myrick, while there are eight juniors - Kalee Davidson, Stanecia Graham, Teddy Griffin, Tiny Henderson, Maria Moore, Alana Rumph, Dominic Seals and Keisha Walker. The sophomore class consists of six - Maddy Brown, Raquel Christian, Jordan Murphree, Ashlee Roberson, Kaylan Talley and Natalie Thomas.
Across the Nation
The 16 Lady Raiders hail from five states across the country with 11 coming from the state of Texas. Sophomore Maddy Brown is from the furthest east, hailing from Honeoye Falls, N.Y., while senior Erin Myrick is from the furthest west coming from Duarte, Calif. Junior Stanecia Graham is from Aurora, Ill., and junior Keisha Walker calls Kansas City, Mo., home. Junior Maria Moore's hometown is Sparks, Nev.
South Plains Connection
Three current Lady Raiders were teammates at South Plains College before arriving at Texas Tech. Juniors Dominic Seals and Alana Rumph played two years for the Lady Texans, while sophomore Ashlee Roberson was there for one season. South Plains College has been a pipeline for the Lady Raiders over the years as several standouts have played at SPC prior to being a Lady Raider, including Sheryl Swoopes, Angie Braziel and Aleah Johnson, just to name a few.
Seeing Double
Two players on this year's roster have twin sisters. Junior Stanecia Graham has a twin sister, Alicia, while junior Kalee Davidson has a twin sister, Kristee.
Preseason Honors
Junior Dominic Seals was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, which was voted on by the league coaches.
Degree in Hand
Senior Erin Myrick graduated cum laude in May 2007 with a degree in broadcast journalism with minors in English and Spanish. Myrick is currently working on a second degree in public relations with a minor in general business. Senior Tawanna Flowers will graduate with a degree in human development and family studies and psychology this December.
On the Tube
Texas Tech will have 14 regular-season games televised this season. The Lady Raiders will play on ESPN2 once, FSN three times, FSNSW once, FSNMW once and the Texas Tech Television Network eight times. Tech will play at Kansas State (Jan. 16) on FSNMW. On FSN, Tech will play Texas (Jan. 20), Colorado (Jan. 26) and at Baylor (Feb. 9). The Lady Raiders will play on FSNSW at Texas (Mar. 5). Tech's ESPN2 game will be at Texas A&M (Feb. 17). The Lady Raiders will have games against IPFW (Nov. 13), Alcorn State (Nov. 24), Sam Houston State (Nov. 27), Houston (Dec. 4), Oral Roberts (Dec. 18) at Oklahoma (Jan. 23), Kansas (Feb. 20) and Oklahoma (Feb. 27) on the Texas Tech Television Network.
Follow the Lady Raiders
All Lady Raider basketball games can be heard live on the Texas Tech Sports 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. The following radio stations will air the Lady Raider basketball games this season:
Haskell/Abilene - KVRP-FM (97.1)
Hereford - KPAN-AM/FM (860/106.3)
Lamesa - KPET-AM (690)
Lubbock - KFYO-AM/KKCL-FM (790/98.1)
Plainview - KVOP-AM (1090)
Lady Raider Basketball with Kristy Curry
Kristy Curry's weekly television show, Lady Raider Basketball with Kristy Curry, will be televised every Sunday starting Jan. 6. The show will air on FOX34 at 10 p.m. and My Lubbock TV at 10:30 p.m.
The Kristy Curry Radio Show
The Kristy Curry Radio Show will be held each Monday starting Jan. 7 from 6-7 p.m. The show will air on KFYO-AM 790 locally. The show will be held at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar located at 4th and Milwaukee.
