Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Take On Southeastern Louisiana Saturday
November 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders will face Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m., at the United Supermarkets Arena.The matchup between the Lady Raiders (1-0) and Lions (0-3) will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest Plus, with Robert Giovannetti handling play-by-play duties and Andy Penney serving as the color analyst.
The game will also be carried on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 97.3 FM, and 950 AM in Lubbock with Ryan Hyatt and Chuck Heinz on the call. The radio broadcast also will be available online at www.TexasTech.com and the TuneIn Radio app.
Texas Tech is coming off a 79-45 rout of Niagara in its season opener, in which the Lady Raiders got out to a 16-0 start in front of a raucous crowd for Education Day. Leashja Grant led the way with 26 points and 15 rebounds, a performance that earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
"There were a lot of good things," head coach Candi Whitaker said after the win. "It was a little bit of a tale of two halves, but I loved how we started, how we played together and the energy we brought on the defensive end--we were able to separate early because of that."
The Morning Drive Interview: Candi Whitaker https://t.co/t2jdIjXkeK
-- Double T 104 3 (@gameday1043) November 20, 2015
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 will be the second meeting between the Lady Raiders and Southeastern Louisiana. Texas Tech is 1-0 all-time in the series.
- The Lady Raiders dominated Niagara 79-45 in the 2015-16 season opener, allowing just 12 first half points.
- Leashja Grant led the Lady Raiders with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and was named the Big 12 Player Of The Week.
- This is the second game of Tech's three-game homestand to start the season. The Lady Raiders face Idaho State on Nov. 24, before traveling to Las Vegas for the SouthPoint Shootout, Nov. 27-28.
DOWNTOWN
Texas Tech rained in nine threes in the season opener against Niagara, a mark that that ranks second in the Big 12. Conversely, the Lady Raiders only allow opponents to shoot 10% from deep, which ranks third in the NCAA and tops in the Big 12.
GIMME SOME MORE
Texas Tech averages 15 steals per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation. Tech also averages 26 forced turnovers per contest.
SECOND CHANCE
Texas Tech is averaging 22.0 offensive rebounds per game, which leads the Big 12 and ranks 20th in the NCAA. Two Lady Raiders (Leashja Grant & Rayven Brooks) are averaging five offensive boards per game.
NEVER LET YOU GO
Texas Tech ranks 13th in the NCAA and tops in the Big 12 in turnover margin, averaging a +13.0 mark per game. The Lady Raiders only average 13.0 turnovers per game, which ranks 45th in the NCAA and second in the Big 12.
GET WHAT YOU GIVE
Texas Tech point guard Ryann Bowser ranks 17th in the nation and second in the Big 12 with 7.0 assists per game, after her career-high performance in the category against Niagara. She had four of those assists in the fourth quarter, a school record for a single quarter.
LABELING THE LIONS
Southeastern Louisiana continues its extremely difficult opening stretch with this trip to Lubbock. The Lions have already had road contests against Arkansas & Georgia Tech, along with a home tilt against Auburn. The Lions are led by sophomore guard Taylin Underwood, who leads the team in points (11.7), rebounds (5.7) and assists (3.0).
Not a bad TTU debut for Leelee Grant, the @Big12Conference Player of the Week! https://t.co/TB3UqNVxU4 #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/xkloke3QAI
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) November 16, 2015
SPACE BOUND
Texas Tech junior transfer Leashja Grant was named the Big 12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week, as voted on by a media panel that covers the conference. This was Grant's first Big 12 weekly honor.
In her first game as a Lady Raider, Grant recorded a double-double, finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds to go along with three blocks in Tech's 79-45 win over Niagara. Through the opening weekend of games, Grant leads the Big 12 in points and rebounds per game.
Grant went an eye-popping 11-for-12 from the floor, which translates to a .917 field goal percentage, ranking her second in the NCAA in that category.
This was Texas Tech's first Big 12 weekly award since Feb. 2, 2015, when Amber Battle was named Big 12 Player of the Week as well. This is Tech's second such award since 2012.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Even though she has only played one game in a Lady Raider uniform, Leashja Grant has already made a huge impact. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Week leads the conference in points per game (26), rebounds per game (15), field goal percentage (.917) and defensive rebounds per game (10.0).
She also holds a top-20 ranking in the NCAA in the aforementioned statistical categories.
NO AIR
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. That trend has carried over to the 2015-16 season as Tech allowed just 12 first half points on 20% shooting in its 79-45 rout of Niagara.
NO QUARTER
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.
COMING HOME
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 OF THE NATION
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 five points, two boards and three steals in the win over Niagara, and Dean logged five rebounds and three assists.
