Texas Tech University Athletics
Game Preview: Texas Tech at Texas
February 14, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2012
Texas Tech Lady Raiders (17-7, 5-7) at Texas Longhorns (14-10, 4-8)
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012
Where: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (16,734)
TV: Longhorn Network
Play-by-Play: Kevin Dunn
Analyst: Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network 97.3 FM (Lubbock)
Play-by-Play: Steve Strain
TEXAS TECH LADY RAIDERS (17-7, 5-7 BIG 12)
Coach: Kristy Curry
Overall: 284-131 (13)
at Tech: 105-80 (6)
vs. Texas: 4-9
NO. NAME HT P YR STATS
23 Monique Smalls 5-6 G JR 8.3 pts/game
15 Casey Morris 5-9 G JR 9.4 pts/game
00 Chynna Brown 5-8 G JR 8.7 pts/game
1 Jordan Barncastle 6-2 F SR 5.1 pts/game
33 Shauntal Nobles 6-3 F SO 6.4 pts/game
TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-10, 4-8 BIG 12)
Coach: Gail Goestenkors
Overall: 494-159 (20)
at ISU: 98-60 (5)
vs. Tech: 9-3
NO. NAME HT P YR STATS
12 Yvonne Anderson 5-7 G SR 11.4 pts/game
24 Chasidy Fussell 5-10 G SO 16.6 pts/game
33 Ashleigh Fontenette 5-8 G SR 11.4 pts/game
22 Ashley Gayle 6-4 F SR 5.6 pts/game
44 Anne Marie Hartung 6-3 P SO 4.9 pts/game
TEXAS TECH - TEXAS SERIES
This will be the 87th meeting overall between the two programs. Texas holds a 60-26 advantage in the all-time series. Texas Tech won the last meeting in Lubbock on Jan. 28, 75-71. The Lady Raiders are looking for their first win in Austin since 2006. Kristy Curry is looking for her first win in Austin since taking over at Tech (0-5).
NSIDE THE SERIES VS TEXAS
- Texas Tech is 6-28 against the Longhorns in Austin. The six wins came in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2006.
- Texas Tech's first win in Austin was on Feb. 17, 1993. First win in 17 trips to Austin.
- Texas Tech's last win in Austin was on Feb. 26, 2006 (58-46).
- Texas Tech beat Texas 75-71 on Jan. 28, 2012 in Lubbock.
- Texas Tech only has four season sweeps against the Longhorns (1995, 1998, 2000, 2006).
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Texas Tech junior guard Chynna Brown made her first start of the season on Sunday in the 51-41 win over Iowa State. Brown has led the team in points in the last two games with 16 and 19. She tied her career high in field goals with eight against the Cyclones.
LEADING THE WAY
Junior guard Monique Smalls is fourth in the conference with 69 steals this season for Texas Tech, who leads all Big 12 teams with 265 steals. Smalls leads the Big 12 and is also second in the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.75.
TOUGH ON THE BOARDS
Texas Tech continues to be one of the conference leaders on the boards. The Lady Raiders are second in the conference with 17 offensive rebounds per game and are second in conference play with a 70.6 defensive rebound percentage and 43 offensive rebound percentage.
STEALING THE LEAD
The Lady Raiders lead the Big 12 Conference and are ranked 33rd nationally with 270 steals (11.3 per game). Junior guard Monique Smalls leading the group with 70 steals this season (31st in NCAA Division I).
NO SMALL FEAT
Junior guard Monique Smalls leads the Big 12 and is ranked third in NCAA Division I with a 2.81 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has 104 assists and only 37 turnovers this season.
SEASON SWEEP
Texas Tech's 76-49 win over Missouri on Feb. 5 earned the program its first regular season sweep over a team since the 2006-07 season when the Lady Raiders beat Oklahoma State twice. Tech beat Missouri, 69-63, in Columbia on Jan. 7.
WHAT A RUN
The Lady Raiders had their biggest scoring run of the season on Feb. 5 against Missouri. Tech trailed 17-15 with 10:24 to go in the first half before going on a 26-2 run that went into the first for minutes of the second half to give the it a 41-19 lead over Missouri.
MORRIS STEPPING UP
Junior Casey Morris led Texas Tech in scoring in two consecutive games to come out of a three-game slump. She hit 50 percent from the field in both games, scoring 15 against Texas A&M and 14 against Missouri. Morris led Tech with six defensive rebounds against Missouri to help hold the Tigers to just four offensive rebounds as a team.
MALLARD RETURNS
Texas Tech senior forward Kierra Mallard returned to the court on Feb. 1 for her first game minutes since the end of the Iowa State game on Jan. 22. She missed two consecutive games with an undisclosed injury before returning in the first half against Texas A&M. She finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds then scored 10 points and had 9 rebounds against Missouri on Feb. 5.
BARNCASTLE EMBRACING STARTING ROLE
Senior forward Jordan Barncastle started for the fifth consecutive time this season. It's the first time she's started in consecutive games since starting the first 20 games in 2010-11. In her first start this season on Jna. 28, she scored 19 points with 10 rebounds against Texas. It was her first double-double since Nov. 21, 2008 against Lamar - her third game and first career start at Tech. She started her first game since Jan. 22, 2011.
Jan. 28 vs Texas 19 pts, 10 rebs W, 75-71
Feb. 1 vs A&M 7 pts, 3 rebs L, 67-55
Feb. 5 vs Missouri 8 pts, 2 rebs W, 76-49
Feb. 8 at Okla. St. 6 pts, 11 rebs L, 53-49
Feb. 12 vs Iowa St. 6 pts, 7 rebs W, 51-41
TEXAS TECH STARTERS (GAMES STARTED THIS YEAR)
G Monique Smalls (24), G Casey Morris (24), G Christine Hyde (23), F Kierra Mallard (19), F Kelsi Baker (17), F Shauntal Nobles (7), F Jordan Barncastle (5), Chynna Brown (1).
LAST TIME OUT
TEXAS TECH 51, IOWA STATE 41
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Chynna Brown started her first game of the season and scored 19 points to lead Texas Tech to a 51-41 win over Iowa State on Sunday at United Spirit Arena.
Tech (17-7, 5-7 Big 12) led by just two points after losing the lead momentarily before Brown's 3-pointer helped cap a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 43-33. Brown's eight field goals matched a career-high while scoring in double figures for the second game in a row.
"She has the ability to really create and be aggressive," Tech head coach Kristy Curry said. "She is prepared to catch and shoot, and be prepared to dribble for us. She is not afraid of that challenge; you've got to have somebody that wants to score. She just wants she team to win. I liked how aggressive she was, but she always is."
Aggressive was a perfect way to describe how Tech approached the game on both ends, holding Iowa State to 41 points and Hallie Christofferson to just two points. Christofferson lit up Tech for 19 points in Ames when the two teams met on Jan. 22.
One of the biggest consistencies this season for Tech has been the way its played on the boards, particulary on the offensive end. Tech came into the game averaging 17.1 offensive rebounds per game - second in the Big 12 Conference. Tech turned 14 offensive rebounds on Sunday into 12 second-chance points.
Tech sophomore post Shauntal Nobles had to play extensive minutes in the second half in place of senior forward Kierra Mallard who left the game before halftime with a knee injury and will be evaluated further during the week. Nobles ended the game with seven points and eight rebounds.
TECH TO HOST NCAAs IN 2013
The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee announced on Monday that TexasTech is one of 16 schools chosen to host the first and second rounds of the2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
Other cities chosen to host first and second-round games in 2013 include Baton Rouge, La.; Boulder, Colo.; College Park, Md.; College Station, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Durham, N.C.; Iowa City, Iowa; Knoxville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; Newark, Del.; Queens, N.Y.; Spokane, Wash.; Stanford, Calif.; Storrs, Conn., and Waco, Texas.
Texas Tech has hosted the first and second rounds of the championship 10 times and last hosted it in 2009. The games will be played on either Saturday, March 23 and Monday, March 25 or Sunday, March 24 and Tuesday, March 26, 2013 (dates to be determined in June 2012).
