WBB: #10 Lady Raiders play Kansas State Sat., Jan 14, 2012

The #10/14 Lady Red Raiders play the Kansas State Wildcats in Lubbock on Saturday Jan 14, 2012 at 2pm CST at the USA. This will be the 21^st meeting between these two teams. The series is tied at 10 wins apiece. Tech has won the last two conference play games. Texas Tech is #13 on the All-Time Winningest Teams in NCAA Div1 History and K-State is #12 on that list.

Tech (14-1, 2-1) enters the game after suffering their first loss of the season against OU in Norman on Wed., Jan 11^th. K-State is coming off a win over Mizzou in Manhattan, KS on Wed., Jan 11, 2012 (72-46). The Wildcats got 24 points from 18 Missouri turnovers.

What's at Stake: Tech is looking to get back on track after coming up short against OU. Today's game will give insight into whether the Lady Raiders learned from that loss. The K-State Wildcats are looking to stay undefeated in conference play and win their 4^th win in Big12 games.

More after the Jump ...

Current record: Tech's current season record is 14-1, 2-1 Big 12. Kansas State's current season record is 12-3, 3-0 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 K-State Wildcats are not ranked in either poll and but are currently 2^nd in the Big12 standings.

Players to watch:

Tech: Senior Forward Kierra Mallard is averaging 13.7 points and 9.1 rebounds/game and has 38 blocks. Junior Guard Casey Morris averages 9.9 points per game and 4.1 rebounds/game and has 37 steals; Junior Christine Hyde is averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds/game; Junior Guard Monique Smalls is averaging 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds and has 53 steals; Sophomore Kelsi Baker averages 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds/game.

Kansas State: Junior Guard Brittany Chambers is averaging 16.5 pts and 6 rebound/game and has 19 steals; Senior Guard Tasha Dickey averages 9.1 pts and 4.1 rebounds and has 30 steals; Junior Guard Mariah White averages 5.1 and 4.4 rebounds per game and has 32 steals; Senior Forward Jalana Childs averages 15.2 pts and 6.1 rebounds/game; Senior Forward Branshea Brown is averaging 4.8 pts an d 6 rebounds and has 13 blocks.

Previously Play: The Lady Red Raiders played the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, OK on Jan. 14, 2012. Tech had a strong first half and looked to pull away toward the end of the 2^nd half but then hit a scoring wall and did not score for the final 4 ½ minutes and OU won by 3pts. K-State played at home on Jan 11^th and easily beat Mizzou 72-46.

Coaches: Kristy Curry is coaching her 6th season at Tech. (102-74). Deb Patterson is entering her 16^th season with the Kansas State Wildcats (314-178).

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 K-State Wildcats finished the 2010-11 season 21-11, 10-6 and finished in 4^th place in the Big12. The Wildcats returned 8 Letterwinners (4 Starters) and have 5 newcomers.

TV: Texas Tech Sports Network (KMYL, Suddenlink 106 in Lubbock) and K-StateHD.TV and ESPN3.com

Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network 97.3 FM (Lubbock)

Gametracker: www.texastech.com/gametracker

Streaming video: www.texastech.com/allaccess/ (~ $10/month)

Game Thread will go up at 1:45pm CST on Saturday, Jan 14, 2012

Other Notes:

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

The Lady Raiders are the second-highest scoring team in the Big 12 (76.2), are second in turnover margin (+4.5) and lead the league in steals (13.6) and offensive rebounds (19.2).

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