Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Set To Open 2015-16 Campaign vs. Niagara
November 12, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2015 LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders will tip off the 2015-16 regular season against Niagara on Friday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m., at the United Supermarkets Arena. Admission will be complimentary.
This game will be the annual Education Day celebration, with more than 5,500 local elementary school students expected in attendance.
"The environment is going to be awesome with it being Education Day and having thousands of kids in the arena," Whitaker said. "We think that kind of energetic environment will have the team ready to go, even with it being an 11 a.m. tip. It's going to be a great start to our season. We know the players are just really excited to get started. Niagara has a good team, and because they have a new coach, it's a little more difficult to prepare, so we're going off player tendencies and really focusing on ourselves as well."
Texas Tech improved by nine wins overall and by five wins in Big 12 play last season, and returns seven players from that squad to go along with a slew of talented newcomers.
The game will be streamed live on texastech.tv, and the live radio broadcast will be on 97.3 KLZK-FM and the Tune-In App, with Ryan Hyatt and Chuck Heinz on the call. Live stats will be available via texastech.statbroadcast.com. Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the women's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/LadyRaiderWBB and @LadyRaiderWBB on Twitter.
TOP GAMEDAY STORYLINES
- This is the 2015-16 regular season opener for Texas Tech.
- The Lady Raiders picked up a 77-43 victory over Eastern New Mexico in their exhibition on Saturday, Nov. 7, outscoring the Greyhounds 63-29 in quarters 2-4. Rayven Brooks led the way with 18 points.
- Under third-year head coach Candi Whitaker, the Lady Raiders return 7 players from the much-improved 2014-15 campaign.
- The game will be the first meeting between Texas Tech and Niagara.
LADY RAIDER LOCKDOWN
Texas Tech only allowed 1,838 total points in 31 games last season, which ranked second in the Big 12. That translates to 59.3 points allowed per game, which ranked fourth in the conference.
CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR?
Of the new rules NCAA women's basketball is transitioning to for starting with this season, the most noticeable is that the game format has moved from two halves, to four quarters, creating more exciting end-of-clock situations, among other changes.
Lady Raiders Ink Pair Of Highly-Regarded Signees (Bios, photos, quotes & more): https://t.co/5PClUPXIl7 #WreckEm https://t.co/WCjCoqOjVJ
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) November 11, 2015
The Lady Raiders feature eight players on the current roster who began their Texas Tech career as a transfer. Five of those players are newcomers. Two of them, Brielle Blaire (Virginia Tech) and Leashja Grant (TVCC) will be eligible during the 2015-16 season, while the other three, highly touted transfers Recee' Caldwell (UCLA), Larryn Brooks (Indiana) and Jada Terry (Texas A&M) will not be eligible until the 2016-17 season.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Even with the veterans Tech has on the roster, youth will be served for the Lady Raiders as freshmen Japreece Dean and Zuri Sanders figure to play significant roles. Sanders had nine points and 12 boards in the exhibition win over ENMU, and Dean logged three points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
LAST TIME OUT
The Texas Tech Lady Raiders played to a deadlock early, but eventually blew past Eastern New Mexico, 77-43, in their exhibition game at the United Supermarkets Arena, on Nov. 7.
The Lady Raiders and Greyhounds played to a 14-14 draw in the first quarter, before Tech outscored ENMU 19-9 in the second, 28-13 in the third and 16-7 in the fourth to pull away for good.
The Lady Raiders went on a 12-4 run to start the second quarter and carried a 33-23 lead into the half. From there, Tech broke it open. The Lady Raiders nearly equaled their first half output in the third quarter alone, putting up a 28-spot compared to ENMU's 13.
The third quarter run was sparked by three-point plays on consecutive possessions from Japreece Dean and Zuri Sanders, following a Rayven Brooks three-pointer. That put Tech up by 13, and the Lady Raiders never looked back.
In the second half, Tech held ENMU to just 24 percent shooting from the field and 20 points. The Lady Raiders also doubled up the Greyhounds in rebounds (50-25) and points in the paint (36-18).
