WBB: #10 Lady Raiders play on the road against Oklahoma Wed., Jan 11, 2012

The #10/14 Lady Red Raiders play the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, OK on Wednesday Jan 11, 2012 at 7:07pm CST at the Lloyd Noble Center. This will be the 45^th meeting between these two teams. The series is tied at 22 wins each. However, Oklahoma has won 12 of the last 13 and holds an 11-9 advantage in Norman. In their last meeting, at the Big 12 Tournament in March 2011, Tech came up short and lost to the then #21 Sooners 71-69.

Tech enters the game undefeated at 14-0, 2-0 and this will be there second road game since conference play started. OU was selected to finish 4^th in the Big12 Preseason Coaches' Poll and are coming off a tough loss to the #8 ATM Aggies on Sunday, Jan 8^th. The Sooners were winning by 3pts at halftime but had 23 turnovers and were out scored by the Aggies resulting in a final score of ATM 75 OU 58.

What's at Stake: A win would keep the Lady Red Raiders undefeated and would give Tech momentum and more confidence in their ability to win on the road. The Oklahoma Sooners are looking for their second win in conference play after splitting their first two conference games.

More after the Jump ...

Current record: Tech's current season record is 14-0, 1-0 Big 12. Oklahoma's current season record is 9-4, 1-1 Big12.

Rankings: The Red Raiders are 10^th in this week's Associated Press poll and 14^th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The Oklahoma Sooners are not ranked in either poll and are currently 7^th in the Big12 standings

Players to watch:

Tech: Senior Forward Kierra Mallard is averaging 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds/game and has 35 blocks. Junior Guard Casey Morris averages 10.2 points per game and 4.1 rebounds/game and has 37 steals; Junior Christine Hyde is averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds/game; Junior Guard Monique Smalls is averaging 7.9 points and 3.5 rebounds and has 51 steals; Sophomore Kelsi Baker averages 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds/game.

Oklahoma: Sophomore Guard Aaryn Ellenberg is averaging 18.3 pts/game and has 28 steals; Sophomore Guard Morgan Hook averages 11.7 pts and 3.7 rebounds per game; Senior Guard Whitney Hand averages 11.5 pts and 6.7 rebounds/game; Junior Forward Joanna MacFarland is averaging 8.1 pts and 7.8 rebounds/game; Sophomore Center Nicole Griffin averages 5.2 pts and 4.5 rebounds/game and has 22 blocks; All of the starters for OU have a 78% or greater FT%.

Previously Play: The Lady Red Raiders played the Missouri Lady Tigers in Columbia, MO on Jan. 7, 2012. Tech struggled most of the game but pulled out the win in the final minutes to beat Mizzou 69-63. It was the first time since 2004 that Tech had won at Missouri. The Oklahoma Sooners had a road game at College Station on Sunday, Jan 8, 2012. They lost to the Texas A&M Aggies 75-58.

Coaches: Kristy Curry is coaching her 6th season at Tech. (102-73). Sherri Coale is entering her 16^th season with the Oklahoma Sooners (345-159).

Last year: The Lady Red Raiders finished the 2010-11 season 22-11, 8-8 with a tie for 6th place in the Big12. Tech returns 11 players (3 Starters) from last year's team and welcomed 2 newcomers. The Lady Sooners finished the 2010-11 season 23-12, 10-6 and finished in 3^rd place in the Big12. Oklahoma returned 9 Letterwinners (3 Starters) and have 4 newcomers. OU made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2010-11 NCAA Tournament where they lost to Norte Dame 53-78.

TV: Texas Tech Sports Network (KMYL, Suddenlink 106 in Lubbock) and Oklahoma City: KAUT TV-43 (COX 16, 714 HD) Tulsa: COX 3, 703 HD

Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network 97.3 FM (Lubbock) and Oklahoma: KOKC 1520 AM, KREF 1400 AM

Gametracker: SoonerSports.com GameTracker

Streaming video: SoonerSports.com All-Access / (~ $10/month)

Listen: www.texastech.com/allaccess

Game Thread will go up at 6:45pm CST on Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012

Other Notes:

Texas Tech is one of four teams in the country that are undefeated in all games. The Big 12 has two squads (Texas Tech and Baylor) and is the only league with more than one.

Three of the Big12 teams are ranked: Baylor #1, Tech #10 and ATM #12. Kansas State, Texas and Kansas have received votes

Senior forward Kierra Mallard tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in Texas Tech's 58-53 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 4 for her fifth double-double of the season and 21st of her career. Mallard leads all Tech players with five double-doubles this season. She leads all Tech players in points per game (14.2), rebounds per game (9.5), and blocks per game (2.6).

The Lady Raiders lead the Big 12 Conference in offensive rebounds with 20.58 per game and are second in the conference in rebounding defense (32.9) and in rebounding offense (48.2). They

also lead the conference in rebounding margin (+15.3) which is also fifth-best among all NCAA Division I teams. Shauntal Nobles (3.58), Kierra Mallard (3.5 offensive rebs/game) and Kelsi Baker (2.67) are in the Top 15 in the Big 12 for offensive rebounds per game.

Coach Kristy Curry had her 100th win at Texas Tech on Dec 30, 2011 against San Diego. She is looking for her first win in Norman, OK.

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