Lady Raiders Ready For Midweek Tilt With Abilene Christian
December 01, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders begin a stretch of six games in 18 days by facing off with Abilene Christian on Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT.The matchup between the Lady Raiders (4-1) and Wildcats (4-1) will be carried on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 97.3 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. The game will also be streamed live on TexasTech.tv.
| Keep Up With The Lady Raiders | |
|---|---|
| Opponent | Abilene Christian |
| Tipoff | Dec. 2, 5:30 p.m. |
| Radio | 97.3 FM or 950 AM |
| Live stream ($) | Texas Tech TV |
| Live stats | Stat Broadcast |
| Twitter Updates | @LadyRaiderWBB |
Texas Tech is coming off a 1-1 appearance at the South Point Shootout, where the Lady Raiders defeated Fordham, 62-48, but lost a close 77-73 battle to Washington.
"Abilene Christian is a very good team, and we're going to have to be focused," Texas Tech head coach Candi Whitaker said. "We're going to have to guard them well. They can score a lot of points, so we have to make sure we are guarding the dribble, getting to three-point shooters and staying out of rotations. Offensively, I think we need to be aggressive and share the basketball, along with continuing to execute the other things we have been doing well."
Abilene Christian is 4-1 entering Wednesday's game, with its lone loss coming to Kansas State. Abilene Christian has surpassed 90 points in three of its five games this season.
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.
TOP GAMEDAY STORYLINES
- This is the first game back home for the Lady Raiders after a two-game stint in Las Vegas. - The Lady Raiders defeated Fordham and lost a close game to Washington at the South Point Shootout. - This will be the 15th matchup between Texas Tech and ACU. Tech leads the series 11-3, all-time. - Last year, Texas Tech defeated Abilene Christian, 61-44, in Lubbock. - Rayven Brooks led the Lady Raiders against Washington, matching her career high with 26 points. Ivonne CookTaylor finished one point off her career high, notching 25. - Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in scoring offense, averaging 81.2 points per game.
Hello from the outside: @LadyRaiderWBB ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-PT% & has three of the Big 12's top 7 individuals in 3-PT%. #WreckEm
- Blake Zimmerman (@BlakeZ_TTU) November 30, 2015
HELLO FROM THE OUTSIDE
Texas Tech ranks second in the Big 12 in team 3-point percentage (.361), and has three of the conference's top seven three-point shooters by percentage, including Ryann Bowser, who leads the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (.583).
GIMME SOME MORE
Texas Tech averages 10.2 steals per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big 12. Tech also averages 20.4 forced turnovers per contest. Ivonne CookTaylor leads the team in steals per game (2.0).
SECOND CHANCE
Texas Tech is averaging 16.0 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks second in the Big 12 and 40th in the NCAA. Two Lady Raiders (Leashja Grant & Zuri Sanders) are averaging more than three offensive boards per game.
NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP
Rayven Brooks ranks seventh nationally and second in the Big 12 with an impressive 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
CAN'T HOLD US
Texas Tech ranks second in the Big 12 and 18th nationally in scoring margin, defeating opponents by an average by 24.2 points per game.
WATCHING THE WILDCATS
Abilene Christian enters Wednesday's tilt with Texas Tech averaging 81.4 points per game, having eclipsed the 90-point mark three separate times. Alexis Mason (14.8) is ACU's leading scorer, while Lizzy Dimba (8.6) is the Wildcats' leading rebounder. Lizzy's sister, Suzzy, is the Wildcats' assist leader (3.4).
THAT'S SO RAYVEN
Texas Tech senior Rayven Brooks is currently tied for the team lead in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. Last week, between the Idaho State game and the South Point Shootout, she averaged 15 points, including a career high-matching 26 points against Washington, on just 12 shots. She was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Even though she has only played five games in a Lady Raider uniform, Leashja Grant has already made a huge impact. She has a double-double in two of her five starts as a Lady Raider, and ranks third in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (9.2). She also ranks second in the league and 13th nationally in field goal percentage (65.0%).
She followed up her performance against Niagara with 13 points and 12 boards against Southeastern Louisiana. She registered double-digit rebounds for the third-straight game (11) in Tech's win over Idaho State, where she also had seven points.
NO AIR
Texas Tech only allowed 1,838 total points in 31 games last season, which ranked second in the Big 12. That translates to 59.3 points allowed per game, which ranked fourth in the conference. That trend has carried over to the 2015-16 season as Tech has allowed only 57.0 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. Tech also ranks 30th in the country in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 33.6% from the field.
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.
YOUTH OF THE NATION
Even with the veterans Tech has on the roster, youth will be served for the Lady Raiders as freshmen Japreece Dean and Zuri Sanders figure to play significant roles. Sanders and Dean are combining to average 13 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season.
