Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Go For Rare Win at Iowa State
February 23, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Amber Battle was one of four Lady Raiders in double figures last time out against Iowa State..
Feb. 23, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Candi Whitaker is well aware of what needs to be done to win a Hilton Coliseum this week.
Afterall, she was the point guard on the only Texas Tech squad to leave Ames, Iowa with "W" 13 years ago, beating the Cyclones, 78-66, on their own floor.
After winning two Big 12 road games already this season and beating Iowa State at home on Feb. 11, it's a task Whitaker's team appears to be up to when they tip off at 7 p.m., Tuesday.
"We did a good job on them last time," Whitaker said. "I think this team was like that with West Virginia and getting that first road win against them. We know what its like to go into Iowa State. They've got a great environment and they play really well at home. We know that we're going to have to play really well to win and we expect ourselves to play well."
Tech (15-12, 5-10 Big 12) finds itself on the edge of a postseason berth with just three games to play including two on the road against Iowa State and No. 3 Baylor. And the Lady Raiders could very well be sporting a .500 or better record right now in league play. Of the 10 Big 12 Conference losses, six of them have been by seven points or less.
The Lady Raiders have not only improved defensively throughout league play - holding teams to 58.4 points per game - but also shooting from the outside. Tech is 3-3 in Big 12 games when it makes seven 3-pointers or more while shooting 45 percent from the perimeter.
Iowa State (16-10, 7-8) knows a thing or two about outside shooting as well. The Cyclones have hit more threes (230) than any other Big 12 team this season and have hit more from outside the arc than any other team in the nation in the last 20 years (4,974).
But Tech's defense has been up to the task of stopping teams from the outside. Only three Big 12 teams have hit more than five threes in a game against Tech this season while attempting an average of more than 15 per game. The Cyclones hit just 3 of 20 last time against Tech - their lowest total of the season.
The two teams matchup well with one another with each team boasting four - and sometimes five - guards on the floor in their last meeting. But Tech knows it won't be the exact same as it was two weeks ago in Lubbock.
"We can't look back on our game that we won here and say, `OK, let's just do that again,'" said senior Kelsi Baker, who scored a career-high 19 points on Saturday. "Because in the grand scheme of things, they missed a lot of shots and a lot of easy layups. So we have just as many things that we have to continue to clean up defensively and we just have to execute offensively and run our schemes that our coaches have put in place."
GAME 28: TEXAS TECH at IOWA STATE
When: 7:00 p.m. CT - Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015
Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,356) - Ames, Iowa
Who: Texas Tech (15-12, 5-10), Iowa State (16-10, 7-8)
Series: 26th Meeting (Iowa State leads 14-11)
Last Meeting: Texas Tech 71, Iowa State 58 - Feb. 11 - Lubbock, Texas
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network - 97.3 FM Lubbock
Talent: Ryan Hyatt (Play-by-Play)
TV: None
Online Stream: www.cyclones.tv
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (CAREER STARTS)
G- Ivonne CookTaylor (11 Starts); G- Amber Battle (52 Starts); G- Rayven Brooks (27 Starts); F- Kelsi Baker (72 Starts); F- Jamie Roe (10 Starts)
INSIDE THE IOWA STATE SERIES
Texas Tech and Iowa State are meeting for the 26th time since meeting for the first time as Big 12 Conference opponents in 1997. The home team has dominated the series overall. Iowa State is 9-1 in Ames while Texas Tech is 8-4 in Lubbock. The Cyclones have won 10 of the last 13 games vs. Texas Tech dating back to 2006 including the last five meetings in Ames.
LINEUP CHANGE
Texas Tech used its sixth different starting lineup this season on Saturday against Texas. It's the fourth different lineup in the last five games and the first time Kelsi Baker, Jamie Roe and Amber Battle have all started together this season.
BAKER CAREER HIGH
Texas Tech senior forward Kelsi Baker scored a career-high 19 points on Saturday against Texas. She beat her previous high of 18 points scored twice against Jacksonville State (Nov. 14, 2014) and Oregon State (Dec. 21, 2012). It was even more special for Baker that she scored her highest total during the Play 4 Kay Pink Game with her mom, Valerie - who is a breast cancer survivor, in attendance
FROM THE LINE
Texas Tech was 16 of 20 (80 percent) from the free-throw line on Saturday against Texas. It's only the fourth time this season that the Lady Raiders have averaged 80 percent or better from the charity stripe (87.5 vs. NC State, 88.2 at Texas, 82.4 vs. Kansas).
DOUBLE DIGITS
Texas Tech senior Amber Battle scored her 19th game this season in double digits with 16 points on Saturday while junior transfer Rayven Brooks scored her eighth game in double figures with 12 points against Texas. Brooks is averaging 13 points in her last six games and Battle is averaging 16.6 points in her last five.
COUNTDOWN TO 1K
Texas Tech senior Amber Battle now sits at 987 career points after scoring 16 on Saturday against Texas. She is trying to become the 31st Lady Raider to score 1,000 career points and the first since Chynna Brown and Casey Morris did so in 2013.
