WBB: Lady Raiders vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Go Lady Raiders!!!

RAIDER !!!!   POWER !!!!

Game: Lady Raiders vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Time: 7:00 PM  CST

Location: The United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, TX

Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network (97.3 FM Lubbock)  and  Jayhawk Radio Network

Live Stats: Gametracker

Video: TexasTechTV.com

Listen: TexasTechTV.com

The Lady Raiders (12-5, 2-3) fell to the #4 Longhorns on Saturday, January 17, 2015 in Austin, TX.  Tech came out hot by serving up a 3-ptr to go up 3-0 but then both teams went cold for the next five minutes but then UT went on a 10-0 run and Tech was never able to make up the difference. The game was sloppy at times but Tech stayed in the fight and came within 4 points twice in the game. The Lady Raiders defense is holding their opponents under 60 points.  Texas Tech is 4^th in the Big12 in Scoring Defense at 56.8%.  Toward the end of the game the Lady Raiders became more rushed and sloppy in their attempt to beat the Longhorns.  I was concerned that Amber Battle seemed to put the game solely on herself. There were multiple times she went down the court and went into the paint for a basket but it was rushed and at a bad angle and there was not any passes to her fellow Lady Raiders to get the shot.  I am not sure if Battle is doing this on her own or if Coach Whitaker is calling her name to take the shot. Battle had ten points on the game but all but two of those points came from the free-throw line as she was 1-14 from the floor.  The Lady Raiders improved on their 2^nd-chance-points but they are still lacking in making points off turnovers. I was glad to see improvement at the charity stripe with an 88% FT%.

On the improvement from last year, Head Coach Candi Whitaker:

"Clearly we are much improved. Just getting this team to believe that together they can win games in this league. They have to play on both ends of the floor, you've got to be able to score enough points to finish it off. I'm proud of our effort, we put in a lot of effort in the glass in situation that maybe we were outmatched and just played really hard."

Tonight the Lady Raiders host the Kansas Jayhawks (9-9, 0-5) at "The USA" at 7:00 PM CST. This will be the 24^th meeting for these two teams, with Tech leading the series 16-7. Kansas will be looking for their first Big12 Conference win for this season. The Jayhawks are coming off a loss to Baylor on Saturday, Jan 17^th.  Kansas is lead by Senior Forward #15 Chelsea Gardner who averages 15.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg and is 79.1% from the free-throw line and knocked down 38 Blocks this season. She is supported by Senior Guard #42 Natalie Knight who scores 12.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg, 80.6% FT% and completes 42% of her 3-pt attempts.  Freshman Guards #3 Lauren Aldridge averages 7.4 ppg and nails 89.4% of her free-throw shots and Freshman Guard #22 Chayla Cheadle averages 7.2 ppg.  Sophomore Forward #4 Jada Brown pulls down 3.4 rpg and averages 2.2 ppg. Kansas has connected on 37.5 percent of its attempts from the three-point line, which is the second-best mark in the Big 12. The Jayhawks are averaging 36.8 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game.  KU has limited its opponents to 36.6 percent shooting from the field. The Jayhawks are currently 3rd in the Big12 in free-throw percentage.

I would like to see better teamwork from the Lady Raiders tonight.  They need to come out hot and not relent until the final buzzer.  They need to push into the paint and take smart shots at the hoop and try and limit the bad angle attempts. I would really like the whole team to step it up and not let the outcome be placed on Battle's or Baker's shoulders. Control the ball and beat the Jayhawks.

The Starters for today's game are:  Sophomore Guard #3 Minta Spears who is averaging 8.5 ppg and is 80.4% accurate at the charity stripe and is currently ranked 1st in the Big 12 standings for 3-Pt FG% with 48.2% (27-56);  Junior Guard #11 Rayven Brooks has 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds and is currently ranked 10th in the Big12 standings for Blocked Shots with 18 blocks this season; Freshman Forward #32 Dayo Olabode  makes 8.3 ppg and 6.1 rebounds and is currently 14th in the Big12 with an average of 5.8 rebounds per games (102 total this season);  Senior Forward #41 Kelsi Baker averages 10.1 ppg and 5.3 rebounds and is ranked 13th in the Big12 standing in both Offensive Rebounds (2.18/game) and 9th place in FT% at 70.1% (54/77); and Senior Guard #12 Amber Battle who averages 15.5 ppg and 7.0 rebounds.

Keep the wins coming   ..... Wreck'Em !!!!

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There are a number of promotions going on at the game tonight. One is "Free Books for a Semester" to two students. You have to fill out an entry form and be present when the winner is picked at half-time. Also, the first 1,000 fans to enter the arena will receive a free roller banner. There is also a Wing Eating contest tonight that you can sign-up for.

The game can be heard on the radio 93.7 FM (Lubbock and on the Texas Tech Sports Network )

For a fee the game will have video and  audio streaming on TexasTechTV.com

Live stats will be available on Gametracker