Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Ready For Sunday Matchup With Kansas State
January 23, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2016
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders will look for their second-straight Big 12 home win as they take on Kansas State on Sunday, Jan. 24. Tipoff at United Supermarkets Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Stick around after Sunday's game for Run N Gun & your chance to win an iPad Mini or iRobot Roomba Vacuum! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/xWmEaUmesm
- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) January 22, 2016
It will be the second game of the season to feature the "Run N' Gun" promotion, which includes a postgame Q&A with the Lady Raiders and more than $1,000 in prizes.
The game will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest Plus, with Robert Giovannetti handling play-by-play duties and Andy Penney providing the analysis.
The game will also be carried on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 107.7 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 (10-8, 1-6) is coming off a 1-1 week, in which a tough 92-53 loss at No. 19 Oklahoma, which featured an early 20-0 run by the Sooners, followed a thrilling 69-66 overtime home win against Iowa State, which featured 21 points and 12 rebounds from Ivonne CookTaylor.
After starting 0-4 in Big 12 play, Kansas State (13-5, 3-4) has reeled off three-straight wins against Oklahoma State, TCU and Kansas. The Wildcats have excelled in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 331-285 in the final frame this season. The Wildcats are led by Breanna Lewis, who averages 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
"I think Kansas State has played with more energy in these past three wins," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "Their zone has been more effective. You will probably see four to five different defenses from them over the course of a game, and they have smart kids that can handle and execute those game plans. They have kept opponents out of rhythm."
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.
| Follow The Lady Raiders | |
|---|---|
| Opponent | Kansas State |
| Date--Time | Jan. 24--2 p.m. |
| Radio | 107.7 FM or 950 AM |
| TV | FOX Sports Southwest + |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Twitter Updates | @LadyRaiderWBB |
TOP GAMEDAY STORYLINES
- Texas Tech is looking to improve to 10-2 at the USA this season.
- The Lady Raiders are averaging a Big 12-best 15.7 offensive rebounds per game.
- Texas Tech is the Big 12's only school with four players averaging double figures in scoring.
- Ivonne CookTaylor is averaging 19 points per game in the last four contests.
- Texas Tech is 9-1 this season when outrebounding opponents.
- The Lady Raiders are 13-15 against the Wildcats all time, including a 74-68 OT win in Manhattan last season.
WATCHING THE WILDCATS
After starting 0-4 in Big 12 play, Kansas State has reeled off three-straight wins against Oklahoma State, TCU and Kansas. The Wildcats have exceled in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 331-285 in the final frame this season. The Wildcats are led by Breanna Lewis, who averages 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Kansas State leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 15-13, including having won four of the last five. The last 11 matchups between the Lady Raiders and Wildcats have been decided by single digits, with three of those going to overtime. The teams split their meetings last season. The Wildcats won a 41-38 contest in Lubbock, and the Lady Raiders picked up a 74-68 overtime win in Manhattan.
THAT 70'S SHOW
The 70-point mark seems to be the magic number for the Lady Raiders in regards to opponent scoring. Tech is 10-2 when holding opponents under 70 points this season.
START ME UP
A big portion of Tech's success has come from early runs to start games. On four different occasions this year the Lady Raiders have started a game on a run of 6-0 or better, including a 16-0 run to start the season against Niagara.
FANTASTIC FOUR
Balanced scoring has been the name of the game for Tech this season. Four Lady Raiders are averaging double digits in points per game, there have been six different leading scorers this season and five different Lady Raiders have scored 20 points in a game. Tech is the only Big 12 school to have four players averaging double figures per game in scoring.
YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND
Texas Tech has two players--Japreece Dean (3.44) and Rayven Brooks (3.22) ranking in the Big 12's top 15 for assists per game.
GRAB THE WINDEX
Texas Tech is 9-1 this season when outrebounding opponents. The Lady Raiders average 42.6 rebounds a game and outrebound opponents by an average of 5.2 boards per game.
SECOND CHANCE
Texas Tech is averaging 15.7 offensive rebounds per game, which leads the Big 12 and ranks 23rd in the NCAA. Three Lady Raiders (Ivonne CookTaylor, Leashja Grant & Zuri Sanders) have recorded at least 30 offensive boards this season., and nine Lady Raiders have at least 10.
NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP
Texas Tech is the only school in the Big 12 with two players--Japreece Dean (1.32) and Rayven Brooks (1.49)--ranking in the conference's top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Lady Raiders' Little Engine: No. 24 Japreece Dean: https://t.co/fsvFYhim1R #WreckEm https://t.co/EP8vMthMjX
- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) January 22, 2016
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Even though this is just her first season in a Lady Raider uniform, Leashja Grant has already made a huge impact. She leads the Lady Raiders in field goal percentage (55.6%) and is one of four Lady Raiders averaging double figures in points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding (7.5 per game), as well as blocks per game (1.1).
YOUTH OF THE NATION
For the fourth time this season, Lady Raider freshman point guard Japreece Dean has been named the Big 12 Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week by a media panel that covers the conference. She shares the award this week with West Virginia's Tynice Martin.
Dean is the first Lady Raider in Big 12 history to win this award four times in a single season. Baylor's Nina Davis was the last Big 12 player to accomplish this feat, doing so a year ago.
Dean averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds from her point guard position in Texas Tech's loss to TCU and overtime win over Iowa State.
She went 5-6 from the free throw line last week, including sinking two shots against ISU with 3.7 seconds left in OT to give the Lady Raiders a 69-66 lead that ended up as the final score. Dean totaled 10 points and six assists in the game with just one turnover.
MID-SEASON DEBUT
Brielle Blaire made her debut for the Lady Raiders on Dec. 12, against Santa Clara. The Virginia Tech transfer made an immediate impact, scoring 10 points, grabbing six rebounds and recording three steals. She continued a great debut month with a career-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
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.
UNDER PRESSURE
Texas Tech is shooting 64.7% from the line this season, but in clutch situations, the Lady Raiders have been better than their average would suggest. In clutch situations (when the scoring margin is under 10 points, with less than three minutes to go), Tech is shooting 22-28 (78.6%), 14 percent better than the overall team average.
| Player | FTM-FTA | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Rayven Brooks | 7-8 | 87.5% |
| Japreece Dean | 6-8 | 75.0% |
| Dayo Olabode | 3-4 | 75.0% |
| Ivonne CookTaylor | 2-3 | 66.7% |
| Leashja Grant | 2-2 | 100.0% |
| Ionna McKenzie | 1-2 | 50.0% |
| Zuri Sanders | 1-1 | 100.0% |
