Nov. 23, 1999

Rice Lady Owls                 (1-0)
vs.
#17/17 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (1-0)

Tuesday's Game

Texas Tech will play Rice on Tuesday, Nov. 23 in the United Spirit Arena. It will be the 32nd meeting between the two teams. The Lady Raiders are ranked 17th in both the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls this week.

Scouting the Opponents

Rice is 1-0 after winning its season opener, 66-51, over Illinois State last Friday. The Lady Owls were led by senior guard Marla Brumfield with 17 points followed by senior forwards Kirra Jordan and Kim Smallwood with nine points apiece. Jordan also had game highs of 11 rebounds and three blocks, while senior guard Jenny Cafferty had a team-high three assists and Smallwood snatched three steals.

The Lady Owls shot 38.8 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from three-point range and 57.9 percent from the charity stripe.

Head coach Cristy McKinney is in her seventh season at the helm of the Rice program compiling a 95-76 record and is in her ninth year of coaching with an overall record of 122-104.

Series Records

Texas Tech holds a 28-3 record against Rice and is 27-3 in the Marsha Sharp era. The Lady Raiders claimed a 79-57 victory on Dec. 6 at the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational. The last time the Lady Owls were victorious was Jan. 7, 1989 in a 83-65 triumph.

Probable Starters

Texas Tech Lady Raiders

Head Coach: Marsha Sharp (407-129, 18th season)

Top Returning Reserves

Rice Lady Owls

Head Coach: Cristy McKinney (122-104, ninth season)

A Look Back

Over 15,000 fans helped Texas Tech fight off a pesky No. 14 Louisiana State team 56-49 in the Lady Raiders inaugural game at United Spirit Arena.

LSU tied the game at 45 on a jumper by DeTrina White with 5:13 left in the second half. White's shot capped a 6-0 run by the Lady Tigers.

Senior Aleah Johnson hit key buckets throughout the night, but none were more important than back-to-back shots that reestablished a four-point lead at 49-45 with 4:10 to play. The first of Johnson's two big shots ended a 3:30 scoring drought for the Lady Raiders. Johnson finished with a career high 16.

Katrisa O'Neal scored 13 despite foul trouble. The junior guard played only 27 minutes, picking up her fourth foul with 14:01 left in the second half. O'Neal returned to bank in a shot from just inside the free-throw line to give Tech a 53-49 lead with 1:53 to go. After the shot, LSU never got within four points.

LSU used a zone defense much of the night to frustrate the Lady Raiders on the offensive end. Texas Tech shot 36 percent from the field while LSU hit 49 percent of its shots.

So, head coach Marsha Sharp charged her team with winning the game on defense. Tech forced 22 turnovers and out-rebounded the Lady Tigers 42-31.

Freshman Plenette Pierson scored 12 in her Texas Tech debut.

Lady Raider Head Coach Marsha Sharp

One of the most respected and well-known coaches in Texas Tech history, head coach Marsha Sharp is 406-129 in her 18th year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. The 1999 Big 12 Coach of the Year, for the second consecutive year, has led the Lady Raiders to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 10 consecutive, and five NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and the NCAA National Championship in 1993. While in the SWC, coach Sharp and the Lady Raiders never finished below third, they won or shared the last five championships, and they captured three Post-Season Classic titles. Sharp claimed her 400th career victory last season in the 83-71 win at Colorado on Feb. 24, 1999.

A 1974 graduate of Wayland Baptist University, Sharp was named the National Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994. She also reaped SWC Coach of the Year honors seven times, five consecutively.

Johnson Has Career High

Senior Aleah Johnson scored a career-high 16 points in the victory over LSU Nov. 20 in the Four in the Fall Classic.

Pierson Makes Presence Known

Freshman Plenette Pierson made her collegiate debut as a Lady Raider in a memorable way against LSU Nov. 20. The Kingwood, Texas native scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards in 32 minutes of action. She went 3-for-9 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Schmucker-Pharies Goes the Distance

Senior Melinda Schmucker-Pharies played all 40 minutes in the Lady Raiders victory over LSU Nov. 20. Schmucker-Pharies finished the game with a team-high five assists and tied junior Katrisa O'Neal with four steals each.

O'Neal Off to a Good Start

Junior Katrisa O'Neal got off to a good start for the Lady Raiders as she scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while adding four steals and three assists against LSU. O'Neal was just one point shy of tying her career-high 14 points and averaged just 2.5 points per outing during the 1998-99 season.

Home Court Streak

The Lady Raiders currently hold a 15-home game winning streak after defeating No. 14 Louisiana State last weekend. Tech's streak ranks them tied for fourth among NCAA Division I home-court winning streaks. Grambling currently has the number one streak at 56 games.

Sellout Crowd

Texas Tech's first game of the year and the first in the United Spirit Arena against LSU Nov. 20 was a sellout crowd of 15,050. It marked the second largest crowd for a Big 12 women's basketball game. The largest crowd was 15, 303 when Texas hosted Louisiana Tech on March 27, 1987.

A Look Ahead

The Lady Raiders will return to action Friday, Nov. 26 as they host Southwest Texas State at 7 p.m. before traveling to Southern California for a 9 p.m. CST game on Monday, Nov. 29. Tech will start-off December with with two-straight home games on Dec. 4 vs. SMU and Dec. 5 against the USA National team. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Cudnoski Tears ACL

Redshirt freshman Alison Cudnoski has again tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee for the second time in a little over a year. Cudnoski and her doctors, coaches and family are currently weighing her options. Cudnoski sat out last season after tearing the ACL in the same knee in the first practice of the year.

Coaches vs. Cancer

Head coach Marsha Sharp is teaming up with the American Cancer Society as she is taking part in the Coaches vs. Cancer program. Last season, Sharp and the Lady Raiders raised $33,938.75, ranking 15th among the collegiate basketball coaches involved with the program.

Lady Raiders in the Polls

Since January 20, 1992, the Lady Raiders have been ranked in the Top 25 in the Associated Press poll and/or the USA Today poll, a total of 137 weeks. That includes this year's preseason polls and the first week of the regular AP voting in which Tech is ranked 23rd in the AP poll and preseason 23rd in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

It's Finally Here - the United Spirit Arena

It started in "The Barn." Then came "The Bubble." Now as Texas Tech athletics ushers in a new millennium, it is on the move again.

No matter what moniker is chosen for the new arena, two words will certainly be used to describe it: World Class.

The United Spirit Arena, a modern state of the art facility with seating capacity of 15,050, welcomes Texas Tech athletics this weekend. The arena is the home of Lady Raider and Red Raider basketball along with Texas Tech volleyball.

"We have waited a long time for this special building. There is no question of what this means for our program. I'm excited for our students, players and fans. We have the best on-campus facility in America." ~ Head coach Marsha Sharp

Follow the Lady Raiders on the Radio

All Lady Raider basketball games can be heard live on the All Sports Radio Network on KFYO-AM 790 and KKCL-FM 98.1 locally. Listen to play-by-play by Ryan Hyatt, with color commentary by Crystal Boles and Kent Best as they go to the court with the Lady Raiders. Other affiliates carrying Lady Raider Basketball are:

1999-2000 MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS

Starting Lineups 1) Johnson, Dickerson, Pierson, Schmucker-Pharies, O'Neal: 1-0

Double-Figure Scoring Games: Johnson 1, O'Neal 1, Pierson 1

Double-Figure Rebounding Games: -

Games Leading Tech in Scoring: Johnson 1

Games Leading Tech in Rebounding: Pierson 1

Games Leading Tech in Assists: Schmucker-Pharies 1

TECH FREE THROW SHOOTING IN FINAL 2 MINUTES

TECH RECORD WHEN

Big12 Preseason Polls

Coaches Poll

Media Poll

Poll Position

The Texas Tech Lady Raiders moved up to 17th in both the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls this week.

National Attendance Leaders

Once again, the Lady Raiders were one of the top teams in the nation in attendance figures last year. In 1998-99, Tech averaged 8,051 fans in 14 games at the Coliseum, which set a single-season record.

1998-99 Season Highs

Lady Raider Firsts in the United Spirit Arena

• Points - Aleah Johnson, on a 15-foot baseling jumper with 19:23 to play in the first half.

• Field Goal - Aleah Johnson

• 3-pointer - Amber Tarr, with 10:57 to play in the game.

• 3-point Play - Katrisa O'Neal, who hit a six-footer along the baseline and added the free throw with 5:08 to play in the first period.

• Free Throw - Plenette Pierson, with 17:08 to go in the first half.

• Steal - Keitha Dickerson, with 17:46 to play in the first half.

• Assist - Keitha Dickerson, with 17:46 to go in the first period.

• Rebound - Katrisa O'Neal, with17:35 remaining in the first half.

• Blocked Shot - Aleah Johnson, with 13:48 left in the game.

Big 12 Women's Basketball Teleconferences

Through the work of Premiere Technologies, Inc. the Big 12 will host four regular season women's basketball teleconferences during the season. The briefings will feature seven minutes with each head coach and will take place on selected Tuesdays beginning at 10 a.m. central time.

The Big 12 Tournament teleconference will be conducted Friday, March 3, at 10 a.m. and will feature all 12 head coaches previewing the league tournament. A fifth teleconference will be conducted on March 14, beginning at 10 a.m. central time, and will feature only the head coaches involved in post-season play.

Media wishing to dial into the conference call may contact (913) 981-5530. This number is for media use ONLY. You will be required to identify yourself with media affiliation when you access the call.

Women's basketball teleconferences are scheduled for Jan. 11, Jan. 25, Feb. 8 , March 3 and March 14. Following is a tentative schedule:

10:00 a.m. - Paul Sanderford, Nebraska
10:07 a.m. - Cindy Stein, Missouri
10:14 a.m. - Jody Conradt, Texas
10:21 a.m. - Sherri Coale, Oklahoma
10:28 a.m. - Marian Washington, Kansas
10:35 a.m. - Peggie Gillom, Texas A&M
10:42 a.m. - Sonja Hogg, Baylor
10:49 a.m. - Dick Halterman, Oklahoma State
10:56 a.m. - Deb Patterson, Kansas State
11:03 a.m. - Bill Fennelly, Iowa State
11:10 a.m. - Ceal Barry, Colorado
11:17 a.m. - Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech

Lady Raiders By Height