Texas Tech University Athletics
Lady Raiders Play The Rice Owls At Home On Wednesday
December 04, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2001
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Tonight's Game
No. 12/14 Texas Tech (3-2) will take on Rice (5-0) tonight with tip-off at 8:15 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena. It is the 34th meeting between the two schools.
The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 3-2 on the year after beating North Texas, 63-53, last Sunday. The Lady Raiders are led in scoring by sophomore Jia Perkins at 14.6 points per game followed by sophomore Natalie Ritchie at 12.6. Senior Amber Tarr is averaging 6.6 points. Perkins is averaging 7.0 rebounds per outing, while sophomore Casey Jackson is averaging 6.2 boards. Perkins also has team highs of 21 assists and 14 steals. Freshman Cisti Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with nine blocks followed by sophomore Jolee Ayers with seven. Senior Tanisha Ellison is shooting 60 percent from the field and Ritchie is shooting 40 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. On the year, the Lady Raiders are shooting 38.9 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from the three-point arc and 62.7 percent from the free throw line.
Scouting the Opponent
Rice enters the game with a 5-0 record after beating George Washington, 67-54, in the championship game of the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational last Saturday. In that game, sophomore Elisa Inman scored a game-high 20 points, while junior Kara Liggett added 11 points and a game-high three steals. Inman also had a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior Kim Lawson dished out four assists and sophomore Johnetta Hayes tallied four blocks. On the year, the Lady Owls are led in scoring by Liggett with a 12.0 average. Inman is averaging 10.0 points a game followed by Hayes at 8.0. Inman is the top rebounder, grabbing 7.8 boards per contest. Lawson has a team-high 23 assists and senior Daneesh McIntosh leads the team is steals with 12. Hayes is the top shot blocker with 13 blocks. Rice is shooting 36.3 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 73.6 percent from the charity stripe. Cristy McKinney is in her ninth year at the helm of the Lady Owls, establishing a record of 139-98. She is also in her 11th year as a head coach with an overall record of 166-126.
Series Record
Texas Tech holds a 30-3 advantage over Rice after winning last year's game, 63-56, on Dec. 28 in Houston. The last time Rice was victorious was in an 83-65 triumph Jan. 7, 1989 in Houston. Tech has won 19-straight games.
Last Year vs. Rice
Dec. 28, 2000 - (AP) Jia Perkins has a simple philosophy to winning: just give her the ball. Perkins had a key steal and four free throws in the final 2:26 as No. 10 Texas Tech beat Rice 63-56. It was the first of two free throws - following the steal - by Perkins that put Tech ahead for good at 57-56. Rice was led by Kenya Tuttle with 16 points and Aarika Florus with 13. Texas Tech started the second half with five straight points to open its biggest lead at 37-24. Rice then outscored the Lady Raiders 13-2 to cut the deficit to 39-37 with 13:29 remaining. Perkins then scored five quick points and Plenette Pierson scored four, giving the Lady Raiders a 48-39 advantage with 10 minutes left. Pierson had 17 points in the game. A basket by Starla James started an eight-point run by Rice that gave the Lady Owls their first lead of the game at 54-53 with 4:18 left. The Lady Raiders then outscored Rice 10-2 in the final 4:01, with the steal by Perkins keying the decisive rally. Eight of the final 10 points came on free throws. A pair of 3-point baskets by Candi White sparked Texas Tech to an 8-4 lead. Three straight baskets by Pierson and a 3-point shot by White gave the Lady Raiders a 21-11 advantage with 6:08 left in the first half. Rice then outscored Texas Tech 12-2, with six points from Florus, to tie at 23-23, with 2:19 left in the half. The Lady Raiders responded with four straight points by Katrisa O'Neal to regain the lead. After a free throw by Rice, Amber Tarr scored five points in the final 38 seconds of the half to give the Lady Raiders a 32-24 lead.
A Look Ahead
Texas Tech will play one more contest at home against Southern Miss Dec. 16 before hitting the road again for games at Saint Peter's College Dec. 19 and Rutgers Dec. 21. The Lady Raiders will conclude 2001 by hosting Vanderbilt in the Triple Crown Classic Dec. 29. Colorado will play LSU in the first game of the classic in Lubbock on Dec. 29.
Lady Raider Head Coach Marsha Sharp
One of the most respected and well-known coaches in Texas Tech history, head coach Marsha Sharp is 462-143 in her 20th year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. Entering the 2001-02 season, Sharp was the seventh active winningest coach among Division I coaches. She has led the Lady Raiders to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 12 consecutive, and eight NCAA Sweet 16 and three Elite Eight appearances and the NCAA National Championship in 1993. Sharp led the Lady Raiders to three-straight Big 12 Conference regular-season titles (1998-2000) and two tournament crowns (1998, 1999). While in the SWC, coach Sharp and the Lady Raiders never finished below third, they won or shared the last five championships, and they captured three Post-Season Classic titles. A 1974 graduate of Wayland Baptist University, Sharp was named the National Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994. She also reaped SWC Coach of the Year honors seven times, five consecutively.
Last Time Out
(AP) - After a slow shooting start, the Lady Raiders responded to beat North Texas 63-53 Sunday. "For the first game playing without a major part of our offense, we really did a good job of finding some ways to score and will continue to work on that, continue to involve people a little bit more and get some more offense from some different people," Sharp said. "But we had some folks that really stepped up and really played well." One of those was guard Jia Perkins. "This game I just cut loose and played," said Perkins, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds. "I was just feeling it." Amber Tarr scored 13 and Dionne Brown added eight for Tech, which started the game 2-for-2 from the field against the Lady Eagles (4-3). The Lady Raiders went on a 12-4 run with about five minutes left in the first half to take a 40-26 at the break. North Texas had trouble finding the range, going 18-for-72 from the field. Shannan Stephenson led the Lady Eagles with 11 points. Jalie Mitchell, who averages 17 points per game, was held to seven.
Second Double-Double for Perkins
Sophomore Jia Perkins recorded her second double-double of the season against North Texas with 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
New Kid on the "Block" Freshman Cisti Greenwalt came off the bench against North Texas and tallied a career-high seven blocks in a career-high 18 minutes of play. Greenwalt also added career highs of six rebounds and three points as a Lady Raider.
She's Back!
Sophomore Dionne Brown scored a season-high eight points and tied her career-high 10 rebounds against North Texas. She also tied her career high of three blocks. Brown returned to action on Nov. 30 against New Mexico after missing two games with an injured right knee.
Jumpin' Jia
Sophomore Jia Perkins grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against North Texas. Perkins' previous career high was 11 boards against Oregon this season.
Off the Bench
Freshman Kari Jo Simmons saw her first playing time of the season against North Texas. Simmons played four minutes and scored two points and had one rebound in her first game as a Lady Raider.
Tech Ties Single-Game Record for Blocks
Texas Tech tied a single-game high in blocks with 13 against North Texas. Tech also had 13 blocks against Texas A&M on Feb. 12, 1997.
Stuff It
Sophomore Jolee Ayers tied her career-high two blocks at New Mexico Nov. 30. Ayers has had two blocks on four occasions in her career at Tech.
Ellison Get Double Figures at UNM
Senior Tanisha Ellison scored 11 points at New Mexico for her first double-figure scoring game of the season. Ellison also had an assist, a steal and a block in that game.
Seeing Double
Sophomore Jia Perkins recorded her first double-double of the season at Oregon. She had 10 points and a then career-high 11 boards.
Ayers, Jackson Setting Highs
Sophomores Jolee Ayers and Casey Jackson set season highs again against Oregon. Ayers tallied season highs of 10 points and five rebounds, while matching her career high of two blocks in 22 minutes. Jackson had a season-high nine points and tied her career high of two steals in 34 minutes.
Ritchie Scores Career High, Again
Sophomore Natalie Ritchie scored a career-high 21 points in Texas Tech's victory at Oregon State. Ritchie connected on 8-of-16 attempts from the field, including a career-high five three-pointers. Ritchie's previous career high was 16 points, which she had in the previous game at Duke.
Another First Start
Sophomore Natalie Ritchie made her first career start against Oregon State. Ritchie and fellow sophomore Casey Jackson have both started for the first time in their careers this season.
Perkins Dishes Out
Sophomore Jia Perkins dished out a season-high seven assists at Oregon State. Perkins also added seven points and four steals in that game.
Perkins Scores at Duke
Sophomore Jia Perkins scored a game-high 27 points, while adding eight rebounds, five steals and four assists in 35 minutes of action in Tech's loss at No. 4/5 Duke. Perkins shot 50 percent from the field as she was 12-of-24. She was also perfect from the free throw line, sinking all three attempts.
Jackson Grabs Career High
Sophomore Casey Jackson recorded a career-high nine rebounds against Duke. Jackson's previous career high was seven, which she had twice last season.
Television Games
The Lady Raiders will appear on national and/or regional television seven times this season. Tech first game was against Duke Nov. 11 on ESPN and will play Wisconsin on espn2 on Feb. 17. The Lady Raiders will face Big 12 foes Texas (home and away), at Kansas State, Colorado and at Oklahoma on Fox Sports Net. The rest of Tech's home games will be televised locally and throughout the state of Texas by the Texas Tech Television Network.
Sharp One of the Elite
Head coach Marsha Sharp's .76461 winning percentage ranks her seventh best in the country among Division I active coaches. Entering the 2001-02 Sharp had a 458-141 career record according to NCAA standards. The NCAA does not include forfeits in the overall record, which was 459-141. Sharp won a game by forfeit during the 1988-89 season against Baylor.
Lady Raiders in the Polls
Since January 20, 1992, the Lady Raiders have been ranked in the Top 25 in the Associated Press and/or the USA Today poll a total of 180 weeks. That includes this week's polls of 12th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 14th by the AP.
