March 9, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

Game 31 vs. Oklahoma State • March 12, 2009
COX Convention Center (13,297) • Oklahoma City, Okla. • 7:30 p.m. • COX

The Game
Texas Tech (16-14/6-10) is the seventh seed in the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and faces No. 10 seed Oklahoma State (15-14/4-12) on Thurs., March 12, at 7:30 p.m., at the COX Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The winner of the game will take on the second seed No. 5/6 Baylor (24-5/12-4) in the quarterfinals on Fri., March 13, at 5 p.m.

On the Air
First-round games of the Big 12 Championship are being televised on COX Cable as Curtis Fitzpatrick (play-by-play) and Toby Rowland (color commentary) call the games. Texas Tech's game can be heard on the radio on the Texas Tech Sports Network as Ryan Hyatt calls the game. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.texastech.com through RaiderVision All-Access.

The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 16-14 on the year and finished tied for seventh in the Big 12 with a 6-10 record after beating Missouri, 63-56, last Saturday in Lubbock. On the year, senior Dominic Seals is averaging 13.5 points per game followed by junior Jordan Murphree at 11.3 and freshman Kierra Mallard at 9.8. Mallard is the top rebounder, grabbing 8.0 boards per outing, while Seals is averaging 7.7 rebounds. Seals is shooting 44.4 percent from the field and junior Maddy Brown has a team-high 33.8 percent from the three-point line. Junior Tilmila Martin is shooting a team-best 86.6 percent from the free throw line. Senior Maria Moore has a team-high 89 assists, while Seals and Mallard are the top shot blockers with 35 blocks apiece. Murphree leads the team in steals with 49. The Lady Raiders are shooting 39 percent from the field, 30 percent from three-point range and 71.3 percent from the charity stripe.

The Lady Raiders in the Big 12 Championship
Texas Tech is 13-10 in the Big 12 Championship and won two tournament titles in 1998 and 1999. The Lady Raiders have not won a game in the tournament since beating Oklahoma State, 61-42, on March 7, 2006, in the first round of the championship at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Last year Tech lost to Texas, 75-63, in the opening round on March 11, in Kansas City, Mo.

Scouting the Opponent
Oklahoma State enters the Big 12 Championship with a 15-14 overall record and finished tied for 10th in the league with a 4-12 record after losing to Nebraska, 82-74, last Saturday in Stillwater. It was the Cowgirls' fifth-straight loss. In that game, junior Tegan Cunningham scored a team-high 21 points and senior Shaunte' Smith added 19. Smith also had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. On the year, junior Andrea Riley paces the Cowgirls in scoring with a 23.6 average followed by Smith at 11.4 and Cunningham at 10.9. Smith is the top rebounder, averaging 8.4 rebounds per contest. Riley has team highs of 170 assists and 56 steals. Senior Shyvon Spears is the top shot blocker with 25 blocks. OSU is shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 31.2 percent from the three-point arc and 70.7 percent from the free throw line.

The Coaches
Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry is in her third season at the helm of the Lady Raiders. Curry has compiled a record of 48-46 at Tech and a career record of 227-97 in her 10th year. Kurt Budke is in his fourth year as head coach of the Cowgirls with a record of 68-55. He is also in his 16th year as a head coach with a career record of 421-102.

Series Record
It is the 42nd meeting between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State with the Lady Raiders owning a 26-15 advantage over the Cowgirls. The two teams split this year's games, both winning on the road. OSU won the first game this year, 65-60, in Lubbock on Jan. 31, and Tech was victorious, 74-70, in Stillwater on Feb. 21. The Lady Raiders are 3-0 against the Cowgirls in games played in the Big 12 Championship. The last time the two teams met in the league tournament was on March 7, 2006, when Tech defeated OSU, 61-42, in the first round at Reunion Arena in Dallas.

This Year vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 31 - Texas Tech had three players post a double-double but it was not enough to stop Oklahoma State as the Cowgirls defeated the Lady Raiders, 65-60, The Lady Raiders got off to a rough start missing their first eight shots in first two and half minutes of the game before Maria Moore hit a three-pointer at 17:26. The Cowgirls, who led the entire game, got up by as many as 12 points in the first half at 20-8 on a layup by Kristin Hernandez with 11:45 to go in the half. Tech cut the lead to four three times, the last coming at 31-27 on a pair of free throws by Dominic Seals with 2:55 remaining. OSU led 38-30 at the break. In the second half, OSU was up by 11 points with just under eight minutes to play before the Lady Raiders went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to two at 60-58 with 4:46 to go in the contest. Andrea Riley hit a jumper with a little over four minutes to play to put the Cowgirls up 62-58. Tech's Kierra Mallard knocked down two free throws with 3:39 to go to get the Lady Raiders within two points again at 62-60. Riley responded hitting a jumper at 3:24 and then a free throw with 56 seconds left to secure the five-point win. Ashlee Roberson's jumper with 5:19 left in the game was the last time Tech would score a field goal. Seals, Mallard and Roberson all recorded double-doubles for Tech. Seals finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mallard had 16 points and 14 boards, and Roberson added 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Riley led Oklahoma State with 33 points. The Cowgirls outshot Tech from the field 43.9 percent (25-57) to 30.9 percent (21-68). The Lady Raiders outrebounded OSU 47-to-38 and committed just 10 turnovers.

Feb. 21 - With a 74-70 victory over Oklahoma State, the Texas Tech women's basketball team was keeping its NCAA Championship hopes alive. In a game that had several lead changes, the Lady Raiders opened the game with an 8-2 advantage the first three and a half minutes. Their biggest lead of the first half was seven points, twice, with the last coming on a jumper by Jordan Barncastle at the 12:02 mark to give Tech a 16-9 lead. With just under 10 minutes to go, the Cowgirls took their first lead, 18-16, on a jumper by Andrea Riley. OSU got up by as many as five points over the next six minutes before Tech's Dominic Seals scored the final points of the half as she hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to tie the score at 34-34. The second half was just at close as the first as the lead changed seven times in the final 20 minutes of play. After the game was tied at 63-63 with 3:43 remaining in the contest, Tech's Maria Moore hit a layup at the 3:30 mark to give the Lady Raiders back the lead. After that layup, Riley was called for a technical foul which sent Jordan Murphree to the line. Murphree hit one of two free throws to put Tech up 66-63. Tegan Cunningham missed a three-point attempt and a free throw before Tech's Maddy Brown responded by nailing a three with 2:23 to go to give the Lady Raiders a six-point lead at 69-63. In the final minute and a half of the game, Tech hit 5-of-10 shots from the charity stripe to clinch the four-point win. Seals and Murphree led the way for Tech scoring 22 and 20 points, respectively. Seals had her 10th double-double of the season as she added 13 rebounds. Kierra Mallard finished with 11 boards. Andrea Riley had 29 points to lead Oklahoma State. OSU outshot the Lady Raiders 38.2 percent to 36.8 percent. The Cowgirls also outrebounded Tech by four, 47-43. The Lady Raiders shot a season-high 38 free throws, connecting on 27 of them (71.1 percent).

Last Time Out
The Texas Tech women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak in a come-from-behind win over Missouri, 63-56, Saturday at the United Spirit Arena.

The first 20 minutes of play saw nine lead changes and five ties before Missouri (13-16/4-12) took the last lead of the half at 5:48 on a three-pointer by Bekah Mills to give the Tigers a 23-20 lead. The Lady Raiders (16-14/6-10) got within three again on a jumper by Tiny Henderson at 4:25. Neither team scored over the next three minutes until Christine Flores hit a jumper for the Tigers to give them a 27-22 lead at the half.

Down five to start the second half, Tech's Dominic Seals hit two free throws in the first minute to cut the lead to three. But from there, Mizzou went on a 6-1 run to get its largest advantage of the game of nine points at 33-24. The Tigers got up by nine again at 35-26 with 15:22 to go in the contest before Tech started to chip away at the lead.

With 12:58 remaining in the game Jordan Murphree got hot over the next six minutes as she scored 16 of 18 points for the Lady Raiders, including a jumper at 8:16 to tie the game for the first time since the 6:12 mark in the first half. Ashlee Roberson then hit a jumper to give Tech back the lead at 47-45 with 7:38 to go. That jumper marked the final lead change of the game as the Lady Raiders got up by as many as eight points with three minutes remaining in the game. Tilmila Martin was 8-for-8 from the free throw line during the final five and half minutes to help secure the win for Tech.

Murphree scored a game-high 21 points, 19 of those coming in the second half, and Seals added 14 points. Kierra Mallard collected a game-high 10 rebounds.

Tech outshot Mizzou 46.7 percent to 41.5 percent, while the Tigers outrebounded the Lady Raiders 33-31.

Big 12 Honors
Senior Dominic Seals was selected second team All-Big 12, while freshman Kierra Mallard was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman team. Junior Jordan Murphree received first team Academic All-Big 12 honors as well, while being named second team Academic All-District by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

Change in Lineup
Head coach Kristy Curry has used 12 different lineups in 30 games this season. One lineup has been used in 15 games - Ashlee Roberson (F), Dominic Seals (F) Kierra Mallard (C), Maria Moore (G) and Jordan Murphree (G). Tech is 6-9 with this lineup.

First Top 10 Win in Curry Era
Texas Tech got its first win over a top 10 team in the Kristy Curry era as the Lady Raiders upset then No. 8/12 Texas, 65-62, in its Big 12 opener. It was the first time Tech had beaten a top 10 since beating No. 5 Baylor, 64-62, on Feb. 15, 2006, in Lubbock. Tech then got another top 10 win as it defeated then No. 12/8 Texas A&M, 60-53, on Feb. 11, in Lubbock, snapping a six-game losing streak against the Aggies.

Tech vs. the Top 25
Texas Tech is 2-9 against teams ranked in the top 25. The Lady Raiders suffered their first loss to a ranked opponent as they fell to then No. 3/3 California, 68-54, on Nov. 28, in St. Thomas. Tech got its first top 25 win of the season on Jan. 10, with a 65-62 triumph over Texas in Lubbock before losing at then No. 8/6 Texas A&M, 67-56, on Jan. 13. The Lady Raiders then lost at home to then No. 18/15 Kansas State, 60-48, on Jan. 21, and then No. 5/4 Baylor, 76-64, on Jan. 24, before losing at then No. 16/18 Texas, 77-46, on Feb. 8. Tech got its second top 25 win in a 60-53 triumph over then No. 12/8 Texas A&M on Feb. 11, in Lubbock. The Lady Raiders lost a heartbreaker to then No. 2/2 Oklahoma, 80-72, in Lubbock on Feb. 17. Tech then lost at then No. 6/7 Baylor, 83-53, on Feb. 25. Tech fell to then No. 25/24 Iowa State, 59-52, on Feb. 28, in Lubbock. The Lady Raiders lost at then No. 3/3 Oklahoma, 61-49, on March 4.

Roberson Snatches Career High
Junior Ashlee Roberson collected a career-high five steals against the Sooners breaking her previous career high of four, which she had versus Savannah State on Feb. 2.

Murphree Propels Tech
Thanks to junior Jordan Murphree's hot hand in the second half, Texas Tech was able to overcome a nine-point deficit to beat Missouri in the regular-season finale. Murphree scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half, 16 of those coming in a six-minute time span where she was 6-for-7 from the field, including two threes, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

Martin Helps Secure Win
Junior Tilmila Martin was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line against Missouri as she hit all of them in the last six minutes of the game. Martin is shooting a team-best 86.6 percent from the charity stripe.

Twenty-Fifth Double-Figure Outing
Senior Dominic Seals played her last regular-season game at the United Spirit Arena against Mizzou and scored 14 points to mark her 25th game of the season of double-figure scoring. Seals also tied her career-high 39 minutes of play. She also played 39 minutes earlier this season against California back in November.

More Boards for Mallard
Freshman Kierra Mallard had her eighth double-digit rebounding game as she collected 10 boards versus Missouri. Mallard leads the team in rebounding with an 8.0 average.

Three in Double Figures at OU
Seniors Dominic Seals and Maria Moore and freshman Kierra Mallard all scored in double figures in the loss at No. 3 Oklahoma last Wednesday. It marked the 24th time this season for Seals to score in double digits, while it was the 15th time for Mallard and the 14th for Moore.

Mighty Mallard
Freshman Kierra Mallard had her 15th game of the year of double-figure scoring as she had 11 points at No.3/3 Oklahoma. All but two of her double-digit outputs have come in the last 20 games. For the first nine games of the season, Mallard was averaging 7.1 points, and in the last 20 contests she has upped that average to 11.1 points per game. She has also increased her rebound average as well, grabbing 5.4 boards to start the season compared to 9.0 rebounds in the last 20 games.

Double Duty
Senior Dominic Seals turned in her 11th double-double performance of the year and the 20th of her career at Tech as she had 16 points and 11 rebounds against Iowa State. She also hit her first career three-pointer. Seals has had double-digit rebounds 11 times this season.

Martin Contributes Off Bench
Junior Tilmila Martin came off the bench and scored 11 points in 13 minutes of play for her fifth double-figure scoring game of the season.

Poor Shooting Nights
In their two losses last week, the Lady Raiders shot only 27.5 percent from the field at No. 6/7 Baylor and 27.6 percent against No. 25/24 Iowa State. Those two percentages were the second and third-lowest shooting percentages of the season. Its lowest shooting percentage of the season was 25 percent (15-60) versus Iowa on Nov. 27, in the Paradise Jam tournament.

Season High From the Stripe
The Lady Raiders shot a season-high 91.3 percent from the free throw line at No. 6/7 Baylor last Wednesday. Tech hit 18-straight free throws before missing their first shot. Tech finished the game 21-of-23 from the charity stripe as freshman Kierra Mallard was a perfect 10-for-10.

Mallard Receives Second Big 12 Freshman of the Week Honor
Freshman Kierra Mallard was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Freshman of the Week after she averaged 6.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in Texas Tech's games against No. 2 Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State the week of Feb. 16-22. The Dallas, Texas, native scored five points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out a career-high three assists and added a steal in Tech's eight point loss to OU. In the win at Oklahoma State, Mallard had seven points, 11 rebounds and a block. Mallard also was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 5 for her performances against UCLA and Arkansas.

Murphree Has Back-to-Back 20-Point Games
For the first time in her career, junior Jordan Murphree turned in back-to-back 20-plus scoring games. In the 80-72 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma, Murphree poured in a career-high 25 points, and then scored 20 points in the win at Oklahoma State. Her previous career high was 22 points, which she scored against Arkansas in January.

Tenth Double-Double for Seals
Senior Dominic Seals recorded her 10th double-double of the season as she tied her season-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds at Oklahoma State.

Charity Shots
The Lady Raiders attempted a season-high 38 free throws at Oklahoma State, connecting on 27 of those shots for 71.1 percent. Senior Dominic Seals had 16 of those attempts, marking the first time a Lady Raider had attempted 15 or more free throws in a game since Plenette Pierson attempted 15 against Missouri on Jan. 28, 2003.

Seals Back in Double Digits
Senior Dominic Seals scored 17 points versus the Sooners in Lubbock for her 21st game of double-figure scoring. She just missed another double-double with nine rebounds.

Moore Comes Back
After injuring her left knee against Texas A&M on Feb. 11 and only playing three minutes at Nebraska on Feb. 14, senior point guard Maria Moore returned to the starting lineup against Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State and had back-to-back games of double-figure scoring as she had 13 and 11 points, respectively, against OU and OSU.

Cleaning the Glass
Junior Ashlee Roberson collected 11 rebounds versus Oklahoma, marking her third double-digit rebound game of the season. She grabbed a career-high 14 against Oklahoma State earlier this year and had 13 versus Arkansas in January. And then freshman Kierra Mallard had her seventh double-digit rebounding game as she collected 11 boards at Oklahoma State. Six of those 10-plus rebounding games have come during Big 12 play.

Hitting the 3
Junior Jordan Murphree hit a career-high four three-pointers in Tech's loss at Nebraska. Her previous career high was three on three occasions in her career.

Big Minutes for Tiny
Senior Tiny Henderson got 34 minutes of playing time at Nebraska, which matched her season high in minutes as she also played 34 minutes against Washington in November. Henderson scored 10 points, tied her season-high six rebounds and tallied a season-high three steals against the Huskers. Her 10 points were just the second time this season she had scored in double figures. She scored a season-high 11 points versus South Florida in the Paradise Jam back in November.

Balanced Attack
For the fourth time this season and the first time in Big 12 play, the Lady Raiders had five players score in double figures in their win over No. 12/8 Texas A&M on Feb. 11. Freshman Kierra Mallard led the way with 15 points, while juniors Jordan Murphree and Tilmila Martin both finished with 12 points. Seniors Dominic Seals and Maria Moore had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Three Post Double-Doubles
Texas Tech had three players post double-doubles in the loss to Oklahoma State. Senior Dominic Seals finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman Kierra Mallard had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and junior Ashlee Roberson had 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. It marked Seals' eighth double-double of the season and 17th of her career, while it was the third of Mallard's career. Roberson picked up her first double-double of the season and third of her career.

On the Tube
Texas Tech had 12 regular-season games televised this season. The Lady Raiders appeared on FSN twice, FSN Rocky Mountain (FSNRM) and Mountain West Sports Network (MWSN) once each and the Texas Tech Television Network (TTTN) seven times. Tech played at New Mexico (L, 54-63) on MWSN. The Lady Raiders hosted Baylor (L, 64-76) and played at Nebraska (L, 56-62) both on FSN. Tech was on FSNRM at Colorado (W, 66-60). Tech's seven games on the TTTN included UNLV (W, 75-63), UCLA (W, 72-62), Kansas State (L, 60-48), Oklahoma (L, 72-80), Iowa State (L, 52-59) at Oklahoma (L, 49-61) and Missouri (W, 63-56). The game on against Arkansas (W, 75-60) was televised by Arkansas on Cox Sports Television.

Follow the Lady Raiders
All Lady Raider basketball games can be heard live on the Texas Tech Sports 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:
Haskell/Abilene - KVRP-FM (97.1)
Hereford - KPAN-AM/FM (860/106.3)
Lamesa - KPET-AM (690)
Lubbock - KFYO-AM/KKCL-FM (790/98.1)
Plainview - KVOP-AM (1090)