Texas Tech University Athletics
No. 12 Texas Tech Takes On Arkansas-Little Rock Thursday
November 30, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2004
The Game
No . 12/12 Texas Tech hosts Arkansas-Little Rock at 7 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena. The game is being televised on the Texas Tech Television Network, which airs locally on UPN Lubbock, with Vinnie Vinzetta (play-by-play) and Crystal Boles (color analyst) calling the game. The game can be heard on the All Sports Radio Network with play-by-play by Ryan Hyatt.
The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 1-1 on the year after losing at No. 7/5 Stanford, 61-58, last S u n d a y. On the year, junior Erin Grant leads the Lady Raiders in scoring with an 18.0 average followed by senior Cisti Greenwalt at 12.5, sophomore A l e s h a Robertson at 12.0 and junior Chesley Dabbs at 10.5. Freshman Darrice Griffin is shooting 60 percent from the field, while Dabbs and Robertson are both shooting 44.4 percent. Greenwalt is the top rebounder, grabbing 10.5 boards per outing. Sophomore Brooke Baughman has a team-high seven assists, while Griffin leads the team in steals with five. Greenwalt is the top shot blocker with eight blocks. Texas Tech is shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 66 percent from the free throw line.
Scouting the Opponent
Arkansas-Little Rock enters the game with a 1-4 record after getting its first win last Saturday against Texas Southern, 76-72. T h e Trojans then fell at Southwest Missouri State, 75-47, last Monday. Against SMS, senior A l i c i a Cash and sophomore Jocelyn Love both scored 14 points. Junior Tamara Humphrey and freshman Lydia Gonzales each grabbed three rebounds. Cash and freshman Courtenay Brown dished out three assists apiece, while Gonzales registered two blocks. Cash also added two steals on the night.
On the year, Love paces the Trojans in scoring with an 18.6 average followed by Cash at 15.6. Cash is the top rebounder, averaging 6.0 boards per contest. Brown has team highs of 20 assists and 12 steals. Cash and Gonzales are the top shot blockers with two blocks each. Arkansas-Little Rock is shooting 38.8 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from the three-point arc and 68.1 percent from the charity stripe.
Joe Foley is in his second year at the helm of the Trojans establishing a record of 11-21. He is also in his 18th year as a head coach with a career record of 467-102.
Series Record
It is the first meeting between Texas Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock.
A Win Against Arkansas-Little Rock Would...
- give Tech a 2-1 record
- make Tech 2-0 at home this year
- give head coach Marsha Sharp her 535th career win
Last Time Out
(AP) - Candice Wiggins scored the go-ahead basket with 1:34 left, then grabbed a rebound on the other end in No. 7 Stanford's 61-58 victory over 12th-ranked Texas Tech on Sunday.
In the final seconds, T'Nae Thiel got a steal and made two free throws to lift S tanford (5-0).
Brooke Smith scored 10 of her 22 points in the final 9:33, Kelley Suminski had 13 points and Wi g g i n s a d d e d 11 . Thiel finished with eight points a n d eight rebounds.
Erin Grant led the Lady Raiders (1-1) with 18 points, making all seven of her free throws and scoring all but four of her points after halftime. Chesley Dabbs added 12 points and six boards.
Grant missed a jumper with 1:09 remaining, but Texas Tech got the ball back with 35.4 seconds left following a 30-second clock violation by Stanford. The Lady Raiders couldn't get a shot off, but got another possession with 12.8 seconds left after a scramble for a loose ball.
But Alesha Robertson missed a 3-pointer in the waning seconds. Texas Tech started its comeback on Grant's two free throws with 15:17 to pull within 32-30. Grant's 3-pointer at 12:02 gave the Lady Raiders their first lead, 37-35 .
Stanford jumped out to a 12-0 lead and led by as many as 17 in the first half before the Lady Raiders made their move after halftime with a 27-6 run. The Cardinal shot 46.7 percent and held a 25-14 rebounding edge in the first half while holding Texas Tech to 26.1 percent.
A Look Ahead
Texas Tech will host three home games before hitting the road again. T h e Lady Raiders will play Miami (Dec. 6, 7 p.m.), Oral Roberts (Dec. 9, 7 p.m.) and Mississippi (Dec. 12, 1 p.m.). Tech will travel to Las Vegas Dec. 18-19 to play in the Las Vegas Duel in the Desert. Tech plays Arkansas State Dec. 18 at 4:30 p.m. CST. The consolation and championship games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. CST, respectively, on Dec. 19, and Tech will face either Virginia Tech or Western Michigan that day. Rounding out the schedule before the Christmas break will be a game with Penn State in Lubbock Dec. 2 1 a t 7 p . m .
Double Vision
Senior Cisti Greenwalt recorded her 11th career double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds against Rice, while sophomore Alesha Robertson had her second career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 boards.
First Career Start
Sophomore Brooke Baughman got her first start of her career against the Lady Owls. Baughman replaced junior Erin Grant, who was nursing a slightly injured right foot, at the point guard position. Baughman, a native of Canyon, Texas, had career highs of 10 points and six rebounds, while tying her career high of seven assists.
Forty and Close to It
Sophomore Brooke Baughman not only got her first career start against Rice but she played the whole 40 minutes of the ball game. Sophomore Alesha Robertson played 39 and 40 minutes against Rice and Stanford, respectively, while junior Chesley Dabbs got 40 minutes of action at Stanford.
Griffin's Debut
Freshman Darrice Griffin scored seven points, grabbed nine rebounds and added four steals, three assists and two blocks in her debut as a Lady R a i d e r. The Seagraves, Texas, native played 35 minutes against Rice. She also scored seven at Stanford.
Grant Returns
After sitting out the season opener against Rice, junior point guard Erin Grant came back on fire as she scored 18 points and dished out six assists, while adding four steals at Stanford.
First Time for Everything
For the first time in school history, Texas Tech welcomes its first international player and first California natives to its roster. Sophomore Patrice Edwards hails from Tr i n i d a d - Tobago, West Indies, while freshman Erin Myrick is from Duarte, Calif., and freshman Judith Smith comes from Long Beach, Calif.
Naismith Candidates
Junior Erin Grant and sophomore Alesha Robertson were selected preseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy. Grant, a native of Arlington, Texas, was a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2004 after averaging 8.3 points a n d 6 . 5 assists per game. She currently ranks fourth on Te c h 's career list for assists with 443 and is on pace to break the school record (603) this season. Plainview, Texas, native Robertson is Te c h 's top returning scorer from last year as she averaged 12.4 points per contest. Robertson was honorable mention All-Big 12 last season.
Preseason Honors
Sophomore transfer Patrice Edwards was named the preseason Co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Y ear by the league coaches, while junior Erin Grant and sophomore Alesha Robertson were named preseason honorable mention All-Big 12. Robertson was named preseason second team All-America by Women's Basketball News Service, Grant was named to the third team. Grant was also selected preseason honorable mention by Street & Smith's.
Grant Among the Best at Her Position
Junior Erin Grant was selected as one of the top five point guards in the country by ESPN.com. Joining Grant on the list were Jamie Carey (Texas), Dionnah Jackson (Oklahoma), Temeka Johnson (LSU) and Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers) .
The Lone One
Cisti Greenwalt is the lone senior on this year's squad and is ready to take the court after a long nine months. The 6-5 center from Clovis, N.M., suffered a fractured right ankle in February, was diagnosed with melanoma in June, underwent preventative chemotherapy in July and was in a rollover accident in August. Despite all the trauma, Greenwalt has recovered and is looking to make an impact in her final season.
Record Lists
Junior Erin Grant is on pace to become Texas Tech's career leader in assists. The Arlington, Texas, native ranks fourth with 449 assists. The school record of 603 assists is held by Melinda Schmucker-Pharies (1996-00). Senior Cisti Greenwalt captured the school record for career blocks last season and holds the record with 203.
Winning Percentage By Class
The senior class, which consists of just one player - Cisti Greenwalt is 75- 27 (.735) and 31-17 (.646) in the Big 12. The juniors post a 55-15 (.785) mark and 23-9 (.719) in the conference. The sophomore class is 26-9 (.742) and 10-6 (.625) in the league, while the freshmen are 1-1 (.500).
On the Tube
Texas Tech will have 16 regular-season games televised this season. Those airing on FSN include: vs. Stanford (L, 61-58), at Oklahoma State Jan. 8, K a n s a s State Jan. 26, at Texas A&M Jan. 30 and at Baylor March 3. Tech will play at Colorado Jan. 15 and it will be televised on FSN Rocky Mountain and FSN Southwest. The Lady Raiders will face Texas in Austin on Feb. 13 on E S P N 2 . The Texas Tech Television Network will broadcast Arkansas-Little Rock Dec. 2, Oral Roberts Dec. 9, Sacramento State Dec. 28, Oklahoma Jan. 5, Texas Jan. 12, Missouri Jan. 26, Iowa State Feb. 8, Texas A&M Feb. 19 and Oklahoma State Feb. 26.
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 235 weeks. That includes the Nov. 29 polls in which Tech is ranked 12th in the USA Today/ E S P N / W B C A Coaches poll and 12th in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
Follow the Lady Raiders
All Lady Raider basketball games can be heard live on the All Sports Radio Network on KFYO-AM 790 and KKCL-FM 98.1 locally. Listen to play-by-play by Ryan Hyatt as he takes the court with the Lady Raiders. The following radio stations will air the Lady Raider basketball games this season:
Amarillo - KIXZ-AM (940)
Haskell - K V R P - FM (97.1)
Hereford - KPAN - AM/FM (860/106.3)
Lamesa - KPET - AM (690)
Lubbock - KFYO - AM / KKCL - FM (790/98.1)
Midland - KMMD / KRIL - AM (1510 / 1410)
Plainview - KVOP - AM (1090)
