Lady Raiders Open February at No. 25 K-State

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Texas Tech Lady Raiders return to action for the first time in eight days on Saturday night, when they head to Manhattan to clash with Ayoka Lee and No. 25 Kansas State.
Tech defeated the Wildcats in the first meeting back on Jan. 15, 64-45. In that game, the Lady Raiders held the National Player of the Year candidate, Lee, to just 12 points and 12 shot attempts. Tech limited the Cats to just two points in the fourth quarter.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

MATCHUP: Texas Tech (9-11, 2-7 Big 12) vs. No. 25 K-State (16-6, 6-3 Big 12)
DATE: February 5, 2022
LOCATION: Manhattan, Kan. (Bramlage Coliseum)
TIME: 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
Despite 22 points from forward Taylah Thomas, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders fell 86-65 Saturday afternoon to No. 13 Iowa State at United Supermarkets Arena.Texas Tech (9-11, 2-7 Big 12) also received 17 points from senior All-American Vivian Gray, who extended her streak of scoring in double-figures against ranked opponents to 23 consecutive games. Redshirt freshman Rhyle McKinney also had a strong performance Saturday, as the SMU transfer scored nine points in her first start since Nov. 28 against New Mexico. McKinney has now hit a shot from behind the 3-point arc in five consecutive games. Emily Ryan scored 20 points and had seven assists for Iowa State (18-3, 7-2 Big 12), while Lexy Donarski added 19 points. In the end five different Cyclones reached double-figures.

SCOUTING THE 'CATS:
Kansas State again enters a meeting with the Lady Raiders ranked 25th in the AP Poll. The Wildcats were ranked 25th heading into last month's 64-45 Tech victory. Led by All-America and National Player of the Year candidate Ayoka Lee, the Cats enter Saturday's clash at 16-5 overall and 6-3 in the tight Big 12 standings. K-State sits just one game behind Texas and Baylor who are tied for third, and a half game ahead of 5-4 KU. One of the most dominate players of the first two-thirds of the season, Lee enters the weekend 24.5 points and 10.6 rebounds. Lee has scored 538 points in 21 games, including an NCAA Record 61 against Oklahoma back on Jan. 23. Lee shot 23-of-30 in the game and made 15-of-17 free throws. Lee is second in the country in scoring. K-State is coming off a tough 70-55 loss Wednesday against No. 11 Iowa State. Int hat game the Cats were outscored 24-8 in the third period, and trailed 55-33 after three periods. Lee is averaging just 19.1 points a game in losses this season, and has been held to 20 or fewer in four of K-State's five losses. The only loss she scored more than 20, was against ISU where she scored 38.

UP NEXT:
Tech will return to action on Wednesday night (Feb. 9) when the Texas Longhorns make the return trip to Lubbock. Tip from United Supermarkets Arena is set for 7 p.m.

Lady Raiders Open February at No. 25 K-State

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Players Mentioned

Vivian Gray

Rhyle McKinney

Taylah Thomas