Lady Raiders set for Saturday date at TCU

FORT WORTH – The Texas Tech Lady Raiders close a mini two-game road swing on Saturday afternoon when the head to Fort Worth for a 5 p.m. date with the Horned Frogs of TCU.

Looking to record the first Big 12 win of the season, Texas Tech (12-3, 0-2 Big 12) will also look to snap a two-game road skid against the Horned Frogs in the 60th meeting between the rival schools.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech Lady Raiders (12-3, 0-2 Big 12) at TCU (6-7, 0-2 Big 12)
DATE: Jan. 7, 2023
TIME: 5 PM
LOCATION: Schollmaier Arena (Fort Worth)

LAST TIME OUT:
Despite 21 points and 11 rebounds from guard Bre'Amber Scott, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders fell at No. 21 KU 77-59 Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

In the setback, Texas Tech (12-3, 0-2 Big 12) also received 11 points and four rebounds from freshman Jasmine Shavers and a season-high eight points from Katie Ferrell.

The difference in the contest was found inside the paint, as Kansas (12-1, 2-0 Big 12) outscored Tech 44-26 inside.

KU saw 66 of its 77 points come from guard Holly Kersgieter, Zakiyah Franklin and Taiyanna Jackson. Kersgieter scored 26 while Franklin also adde 26. Jackson finished with 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks.

SCOUTING THE FROGS:
TCU enters Saturday's contest at 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 Conference play. Much like the Lady Raiders, TCU started Big 12 play with two of the best in the Big 12, starting conference play at No. 23 Baylor before returning home for Texas. The Frogs enter Saturday's contest with the worst record in the Big 12 and are the only Big 12 team ranked outside the top 90 of the NET rankings. The Frogs have ben led this season by Tomi Talwo and Bella Cravens. Talwo is averaging a team-best 13.6 points while Cravens is shooting a team-best 49.1 percent from the field and is averaging 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. On Wednesday night, five different Horned Frogs reached double-figures, led by Knisha Godfrey's 17 points. The Frogs attempted the fifth-most free throws (42) in program history, as four players attempted at least eight free throws. Cravens narrowly missed a double-double in that contest scoring 13 points with nine rebounds. So far this season, TCU is 6-4 at Schollmaier Arena and 0-1 in Big 12 play.

STORYLINES:

WE'LL TAKE THAT
Texas Tech has forced 167 turnovers over the last eight contests (18.6/game) including a Krista Gerlich Era record 24 vs. Alabama State. As a team the Lady Raiders have forced 276 turnovers through the seasons first 14 games (18.6). All of last season Tech forced just 396. The Lady Raiders are 11-1 this season when forcing more than 15 turnovers and have forced at least 20 turnovers five times. Tech did not force at least 20 turnovers in a game at all last season. The Lady Raiders have forced 15 or more turnovers in 11 straight games.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE
The Lady Raiders are a perfect 12-0 this season when holding teams to under 30 points in the paint in a game. Tech allowed 34 points in the paint against JSU, 38 points in the paint Saturday against ISU and a season-high 44 against KU Wednesday. For the season, opponents are scoring just 22.9/game inside the paint. Tech has outscored its opponents 414-344 in the paint.

TOUGH SCHEDULE TO START BIG 12 PLAY
After opening up with the preseason favorites and top-ranked team in the Big 12 (Iowa State), Tech traveled to No. 21 KU, the team with the best overall record in the Big 12. The Lady Raiders open with four of their first six games against teams ranked inside the top-25/receiving votes. Tech is scheduled to host No. 17 OU on Wednesday before hosting 2-0 Texas the following week.

GOIN' BACK-TO-BACK AGAIN
Freshman Jazmine Shavers was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week this week (Jan. 3). Shavers' honor marks the fourth time a Lady Raider has been named freshman of the week and the second time this season Shavers has earned the honor. The guard joins Bailey Maupin with two Freshman of the week honors. Maupin and Shavers become just the second set of teammates in the 27 year history of the Big 12 to go back-to-back twice. Kansas State's Serena Sundell and Brylee Glenn also went back-to-back twice. Maupin and Shavers are just one 17 sets of teammates to go back-to-back in conference history. The back-to-back honors mark just the third time in school history and for the first time since 2003 , the Lady Raiders recorded back-to-back Big 12 Freshman of the Week honorees. Shavers and Maupin join Erin Grant and LaToya Davis (2003) as the only set of teammates to win back-to-back freshman of the week honors. Shavers/Maupin and Grant/Davis join Melinda Schmucker/Keitha Dickerson (1997) as the only set of teammates all-time to win freshman of the week in a season in school history.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After going 37 days without leaving the City of Lubbock, the Lady Raiders will boarded a plane traveled to Kansas. Before, the KU game, Tech's last flight was Nov. 29 when Tech came back from Las Vegas. The game against KU was Tech's first true road game in 45 days.

BRE'S BACK!
Senior Bre'Amber Scott is back for her senior season and is playing at a high level. After missing the first two games of the season due to personal reasons, Scott made her return to the Lady Raider lineup before the Colorado game. Tech is now 10-2 this season in Scott's 12 games. The guard missed Tech's game against Mississippi Valley State, after facing travel issues. Scott was dressed for that contest but did not play after pulling into town at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The guard has regained the team in points-per-game (13.5) and has grabbed a team-best 77 rebounds. Her 6.4 rebounds a game are also the best on the Lady Raider squad. Scott has also made a team-best 62 free throws and has taken a team-high 73 attempts. Scott scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her second career-double on Wednesday. Scott also was a perfect 8-of-8 from the line.

BIG JAZZ MAKES AN IMPACT
Houston transfer Jazmaine Lewis has made an immediate impact since transferring to Tech. After recording just five career games with 10+ points during her 68 game UofH career, Lewis already has eight games with 10+ as a Lady Raider (13 games). Against Sam Houston on Dec. 6, Lewis had one of the most efficient games this season by a Lady Raider, when she scored 17 points in just 12 minutes of action. Lewis is shooting 65.9 percent (54-82) from the field and has set a new career-high for points twice this season (A&M Corpus, Sam Houston). Lewis has scored 131 points in just 233 minutes this season. After shooting around 50 percent from the line as a Cougar, Lewis is shooting 71.9 percent (23-of-32) from the charity stripe this season.

WE MISSED THE BIG KAT
Grad student Katie "Big Kat" Ferrell made her much anticipated return to the lineup against Sam Houston. After injuring her hand in practice between the A&M Corpus Christi and Jackson State games, Ferrell missed seven straight games. Ferrell is the only active D-I player in the country to have recorded 500 career points, 500 career assists and 700 rebounds. Against MVSU, Ferrell nearly had a triple double without points, as the UTA transfer grabbed six rebounds had seven assists and had five steals. Tech is 6-2 when Ferrel plays and they have outscored opponents by 92 points in her 166 minutes of action this season.

UP NEXT:
The Lady Raiders return to United Supermarkets Arena on Wednesday night when they welcome No. 17 Oklahoma. Tip-off from Lubbock is set for 7 p.m.

Lady Raiders set for Saturday date at TCU

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Players Mentioned

Katie Ferrell

Jazmaine Lewis

Bailey Maupin

Bre'Amber Scott

Jasmine Shavers

Texas Tech University Athletics