Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Take On West Virginia Tuesday Night
February 01, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2016
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders play at home for the second game in a row on Tuesday, facing West Virginia. Tipoff inside United Supermarkets Arena is set for 6 p.m.
It's time to consider Japreece Dean as a #Big12FOY Candidate after another great performance on Saturday! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/RUSKSbtaq0
-- Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) February 1, 2016
The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports 2, with Ron Thulin handling play-by-play duties and Brenda VanLengen 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 (11-10, 1-8) defeated Kansas, 54-44, on Saturday. The Lady Raiders were led by 37 combined points from Ivonne CookTaylor and Japreece Dean, with the latter scoring 21 points, collecting eight rebounds and hitting 11-12 free throws. The Lady Raiders are now 10-3 at home this season.
West Virginia (16-6, 5-4) is coming off a tough 0-2 week, which featured losses to two ranked teams--Oklahoma and Baylor. The Mountaineers defeated Tech, 79-57, on Jan. 9, in Morgantown, W. Va.
"West Virginia is good. I think they are a top-three team in this league as far as their ability to make plays and make it difficult for you to run offense," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "They have great athletes, they can shoot it well--they are much improved in that area from last year--and some of their best scorers come off the bench. They have a lot of bullets in their gun, and they are going to play with high energy. We are going to have to use their pressure against them, find ways to counter and get to the line."
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 | West Virginia |
| Date--Time | Feb. 2--6 p.m. |
| Radio | 107.7 FM or 950 AM |
| TV | FOX Sports 2 |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Twitter Updates | @LadyRaiderWBB |
TOP GAMEDAY STORYLINES
- Texas Tech is looking to improve to 11-3 at home this season.
- The Lady Raiders are averaging a Big 12-best 15.2 offensive rebounds per game.
- Texas Tech is the Big 12's only school with four players ranked in the conference's top 25 in scoring.
- Japreece Dean leads the Lady Raiders with 15 double figure scoring games this season.
- Texas Tech is 4-0 when making at least 15 free throws this season.
- West Virginia defeated Tech in their earlier meeting this season, 79-57, in Morgantown, on Jan. 9.
WATCHING WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia is coming off a tough 0-2 week, which featured two close losses to ranked opponents, in Oklahoma and Baylor. The Mountaineers are No. 43 in the RPI and are led by Bria Holmes, who averages 16.8 points and 3.6 assists per game.
INSIDE THE SERIES
The all-time series between the Lady Raiders and Mountaineers is tied, 4-4. The teams have split the last four meetings, with West Virginia claiming the last two.
THAT 70'S SHOW
The 70-point mark seems to be the magic number for the Lady Raiders, being that they are 6-2 when scoring at least 70 points this season, and each win has come when holding the opponent under 70 points.
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 at least nine 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 ranking in the conference's top 25 in scoring.
FEELING CHARITABLE
Texas Tech is 4-0 this season when making 15 or more free throws, and 7-1 when making more free throws than its opponent.
YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND
Texas Tech has two players (Japreece Dean and Rayven Brooks) ranking in the conference's top 15 for assists per game.
GRAB THE WINDEX
Texas Tech is 9-2 this season when outrebounding opponents. The Lady Raiders average 40.7 rebounds a game and outrebound opponents by an average of 3.0 boards per game.
SECOND CHANCE
Texas Tech is averaging 15.2 offensive rebounds per game, which leads the Big 12 and ranks 28th in the NCAA. Three Lady Raiders (Ivonne CookTaylor, Leashja Grant & Zuri Sanders) have recorded at least 30 offensive boards this season.
HELLO FROM THE OUTSIDE
Ryann Bowser (.419) ranks third in the Big 12 in three-point percentage. If she had enough attempts to qualify, she would rank 32nd nationally.
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 (53.9%) and is one of four Lady Raiders averaging at least nine points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding (7.0 per game), as well as blocks per game (1.2).
YOUTH OF THE NATION
For the fourth time this season, Lady Raider freshman point guard Japreece Dean was named the Big 12 Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week by a media panel that covers the conference, on Jan. 18. She shared the award 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.
She hasn't slowed down, either. Dean averaged 19 points per game last week, thanks in big part to hitting 17-18 (.944) free throws across the two games. She finished with 21 points against Kansas, to go along with a team-high and career-high eight rebounds. She also chipped in four assists.
Dean is a prime candidate to be named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, as she leads Big 12 freshmen in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and free throw percentage, while ranking second in scoring.
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 64.5% 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 26-32 (81.3%), 17 percent better than the overall team average, including going 10-10 combined against Iowa State and Kansas.
| Player | FTM-FTA | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Japreece Dean | 10-12 | 83.3% |
| Rayven Brooks | 7-8 | 87.5% |
| 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% |
