Texas Tech University Athletics
Game Preview: No. 21 Texas Tech at Kansas
January 24, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2012
No. 21 Texas Tech takes on Kansas.
No. Texas Tech Lady Raiders (14-4, 2-4)
at Iowa State Cyclones (15-3, 4-2)
7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, Kan.
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network
97.3 FM (Lubbock)
Play-by-play: Steve Strain
TEXAS TECH - KANSAS SERIES
This will be the 18th meeting overall between the two programs. Texas Tech holds a 14-3 advantage in the all-time series, winning the last 12 contests. Tech's last loss to Kansas was on Jan. 23, 1999. The Lady Raiders are 6-2 at Allen Fieldhouse and have not lost there since 1999.
TEXAS TECH LADY RAIDERS (14-4, 2-4 BIG 12)
Coach: Kristy Curry
Overall: 281-128 (13)
at Tech: 102-77 (6)
vs. KU: 5-0
NO. NAME HT P YR STATS
23 Monique Smalls 5-6 G JR 8.3 pts/game
15 Casey Morris 5-9 G JR 9.7 pts/game
5 Christine Hyde 5-10G JR 8.8 pts/game
41 Kelsi Baker 6-0 F SO 7.6 pts/game
20 Kierra Mallard 6-3 F SR 13.1 pts/game
KANSAS JAYHAWKS (15-3, 4-2 BIG 12)
Coach: Bonnie Henrickson
Overall: 290-173 (15)
at KU: 132-111 (8)
vs. Tech: 0-7
NO. NAME HT P YR STATS
3 Angel Goodrich 5-4 G JR 12.7 pts/game
42 Natalie Knight 5-7 G FR 5.4 pts/game
13 Monica Engelman 5-11G JR 10.3 pts/game
21 Carolyn Davis 6-3 F JR 17.6 pts/game
11 Aishah Sutherland 6-2 C SR 13.3 pts/game
GETTING STARTED
Texas Tech became confortable with its starting lineup after just the first two games of the season. Sophomore Shauntal Nobles started the first two games against New Mexico and at Houston before sophomore Kelsi Baker slid into that role and remains there after 16 starts. Nobles has not disappeared, receiving valuable minutes off the bench.
STARTS THIS SEASON: Monique Smalls (18), Christine Hyde (18), Casey Morris (18), Kierra Mallard (18), Kelsi Baker (16), Shauntal Nobles (2).
LAST TIME OUT
IOWA STATE 66, NO. 17 TEXAS TECH 49
AMES, Iowa -- Hallie Christofferson had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Iowa State beat Texas Tech (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) by a 66-49 score on Sunday to end the longest losing streak in coach Bill Fennelly's 17 seasons.
Leading 26-23 at halftime, Iowa State (10-7, 1-5 Big 12) missed its first seven shots in the second half, then ran off 12 straight points to start a 17-3 run that put the Cyclones in control and ended their five-game losing streak.
Texas Tech (14-4, 2-4) missed 12 of its first 13 shots in the half and never recovered, falling behind by as many as 20. points The Lady Raiders have lost four straight after a 14-0 start.
Lauren Mansfield added 12 points, while Chelsea Poppens had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Cyclones, whose 0-5 start in the Big 12 had been the program's worst under Fennelly.
Monique Smalls' 13 points led Texas Tech, which shot just 28 percent.
R-WORD CAMPAIGN
Texas Tech, the Big 12 Conference and Special Olympics are teaming up this week to encourage fans to end the use of the word "retarded." Help us Spread the Word to End the Word by visiting R-word.org and digitally pledging to eliminate using the R-word.
SWIPING CLEAN
Texas Tech leads the Big 12 Conference and is No. 13 nationally with 12.7 steals per game this season. The Lady Raiders have 18 or more steals against four opponents this season (UTA, Texas State, UMKC and New Mexico).
SCORING BIG
Texas Tech is second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring margin (16.1) and 19th overall in the country. The Lady Raiders are also fourth in conference in scoring with 73.2 points per game - 27th nationally.
OFF THE BOARDS
The Lady Raiders are second the Big 12 Conference in offensive rebounds with 17.5 per game and are third in the conference in rebounding offense (43.9%) and fifth in rebounding defense (35.4%). They are also second in the conference in rebounding margin (+8.4) which is also 18th-best among all NCAA Division I teams.
NATIONAL LEADER
Texas Tech junior point guard Monique Smalls had a career-high 11 assists on Dec. 7 against UTA. She also did not have a turnover for the third-consecutive game. Smalls is currently leading the country with a 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio, totaling 83 assists and only 22 turnovers.
MALLARD CLIMBS RECORD BOOK
Senior forward Kierra Mallard has 22 blocks in her last eight games. She is now second all-time at Texas Tech with 198 blocks. Mallard passed Crystal Boles (191) and is behind all-time leader Cisti Greenwalt who had 300 blocks in her Lady Raider career. Mallard had a season-high five blocks in Texas Tech's 58-53 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 4.
