Dec. 27, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Game 12 vs. UCLA • December 29, 2008
United Spirit Arena (15,050) • Lubbock, Texas • 7 p.m. • TTTN

The Game
Texas Tech (7-4) hosts UCLA (9-1) on Mon., Dec. 29, at 7 p.m., at the United Spirit Arena. It is the fifth meeting between the two schools.

On the Air
The game is being televised on the Texas Tech Television Network as Drew Dougherty (play-by-play) and Crystals Boles (color commentary) call the game. The game can be heard on the radio on the Texas Tech Sports Network as Ryan Hyatt and Stephanie Gerber call the game. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.texastech.com through RaiderVision All-Access. Live streaming is also available through RaiderVision All-Access and live stats are available through gametracker at www.texastech.com.

The Lady Raiders
Texas Tech is 7-4 on the year after defeating Sacramento State, 83-46, on Dec. 20. On the year, senior Dominic Seals is averaging 13.3 points per game followed by junior Jordan Murphree at 9.8. Seals is the top rebounder, grabbing 8.1 boards per outing and freshman Kierra Mallard is averaging 6.0 rebounds. Freshman Jordan Barncastle is shooting a team-high 50 percent from the field and junior Maddy Brown has a team-best 35.4 percent from the three-point line. Junior Tilmila Martin is shooting 88.9 percent from the free throw line. Senior Maria Moore has a team-high 42 assists, while Seals is the top shot blocker with 15 blocks. Seals and Moore lead the team in steals with 13 apiece. The Lady Raiders are shooting 40.5 percent from the field, 31 percent from three-point range and 67.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Scouting the Opponent
UCLA is 9-1 on the year after beating Kansas, 67-64, on Dec. 21, in Los Angeles. In that game, sophomores Christina Nzekwe and Nina Earl both scored 12 points and sophomore Doreena Campbell chipped in 10. Senior Chinyere Ibekwe grabbed 10 rebounds. Campbell tallied four assists and Earl collected three steals. On the year, Campbell paces the Bruins in scoring with an 11.8 average followed by sophomore Earl at 9.6. Ibekwe is the top rebounder, averaging 9.5 rebounds per contest. Campbell has team highs of 43 assists and 15 steals. Ibekwe and senior Tierra Henderson also have a team-high 15 steals. Ibekwe is the top shot blocker with 10 blocks. UCLA is shooting 43.4 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from the three-point line and 65 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 39-36 at Tech and a career record of 218-87 in her 10th year. Nikki Caldwell is in her first year at UCLA with a career record of 9-1.

Series Record
Texas Tech holds a 4-0 advantage over UCLA. The Lady Raiders were victorious, 75-60, in their last meeting on Nov. 26, 2007, in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The series dates back to the 1985-86 season when Tech defeated UCLA, 58-54, in Los Angeles. Tech won the only previous meeting in Lubbock, 84-62, on Dec. 20, 1995.

Last Time Out
The Texas Tech Lady Raiders shot a season-best 57.9 percent from the field to defeat Sacramento State, 83-46, in its final game before the Christmas holiday.

The Lady Raiders were hot from the beginning as they opened the game on a 10-0 run before Sac State scored its first bucket at the 15:39 mark. It was a lead that they would never relinquish as they went up by as many as 25 points in the first half at 38-13 on a three-point basket by Keisha Walker. Tech took a 20-point lead, 40-20, at the break and shot 63 percent from the field (17-27) the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Hornets would get no closer than 15 points at 50-35 with 14:15 go to in the contest. From that point, Tech went on a 13-1 run to go up by 27 points. The Lady Raiders' biggest lead of the game was 37 points, the first coming on three-pointer by Maddy Brown at 81-44 with 1:54 remaining. Tech closed the game on a jumper by Jordan Barncastle with 36 seconds left to seal the 37-point victory.

For the first time this season, Tech had all 11 players score in the game. Dominic Seals had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Barncastle and Kierra Mallard finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Mallard was just short of a double-double with nine boards. Maria Moored dished out six assists.

Tech's 57.9 percent from the field (33-57) was its best shooting performance since shooting 58.5 percent against Northeastern on Nov. 11, 2007. The Hornets shot just 31 percent from the field, hitting 18-of-58 shot attempts.

Tech outrebounded Sac State 42-24.

Sami Field-Polisso led all scorers with 17 points.

A Look Ahead
Texas Tech begins 2009 with a game against Arkansas on Sat., Jan. 3, at 2 p.m. in Lubbock. The Lady Raiders open Big 12 Conference play on Sat., Jan. 10, by hosting Texas at 2 p.m. They then hit the road for two league games at Texas A&M on Tues., Jan. 13, at 7 p.m., and at Kansas on Sat., Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. Tech hosts Kansas State on Wed., Jan. 21, at 7 p.m., on the Texas Tech Television Network and Baylor on Sat., Jan. 24, at 1 p.m., on FSN.

NCAA Stats
As of games through Dec. 23, Texas Tech ranks 18th in turnovers per game at 15.0 and 38th in assist/turnover ratio at 0.94, among all NCAA Division I teams.

Change in Lineup
Head coach Kristy Curry has used nine different lineups in the 11 games this season. Three games this season have seen the same starting five Jordan Barncastle (F), Ashlee Roberson (F), Dominic Seals (F), Maria Moore (G) and Tiny Henderson (G). Henderson is the only player to start all 10 contests.

Season High From the Field
Texas Tech shot a season-high 57.9 percent from the field against Sac State. It was the best shooting performance for the Lady Raiders since they shot 58.5 percent versus Northeastern on Nov. 11, 2007.

Back-to-Back Double-Figure Scoring for Mallard
Freshman Kierra Mallard had back-to-back games of double-digit scoring for the first time in her career at Tech. She scored 10 points in both games against Prairie View A&M and Sac State.

Seals Gets Fifth Double-Double
Senior Dominic Seals had 12 points and 10 rebounds against Sac State for her fifth double-double of the year and the 14th of her career. She has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games this season. Tech is 4-1 when Seals records a double-double.

A Team Effort
In the win over Sac State, all 11 players scored in the game. Senior Dominic Seals and freshman Jordan Barncastle led the way with 12 points apiece and freshman Kierra Mallard added 10. Junior Tilmila Martin chipped in nine, while juniors Maddy Brown and Jordan Murphree had eight points each. Senior Keisha Walker had seven and both senior Maria Moore and junior Ashlee Roberson had six points. Seniors Alana Rumph and Tiny Henderson had three and two points, respectively.

Forcing Turnovers
In the home games against UNLV and Prairie View A&M, Tech forced a combined 52 turnovers. UNLV committed 27 turnovers to Prairie View's 25. Both are opponent highs for the year.

Seals Propels Tech Over Prairie View A&M
Senior Dominic Seals had season highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead Texas Tech to a 72-44 victory over Prairie View A&M. It was her fourth double-double of the season and the 13th of her career. Of her 22 points, 10 of them came from the free throw line which was the first time a player had made 10 free throws in a game since Erin Grant hit 14 at Penn State in double overtime on Dec. 4, 2005.

Another Double-Digit Scoring Effort for Moore
Senior Maria Moore scored 11 points against Prairie View A&M, marking three-straight games of double-figure scoring for the point guard. It was her four time this year to score in double digits. Moore also tied her season-high seven assists.

Murphree Ties Career-High Blocks
Junior Jordan Murphree tied her career high of two blocks versus Prairie View A&M. The two blocks were her first blocks of the season.

Five in Double Figures
For the second time this season, the Lady Raiders had five players score in double figures as they defeated the Lady Panthers of Prairie View A&M. Senior Dominic Seals led the way with a game-high 22 points and seniors Maria Moore and Keisha Walker and junior Jordan Murphree all scored 11 points each. Freshman Kierra Mallard chipped in 10 points.

Martin Hot From Charity Stripe
Junior Tilmila Martin was perfect from the free throw line at UNM as she connected on all six free throw attempts against the Lobos. She also tied her career high of three assists in that game.

Season Highs for Walker
Senior Keisha Walker grabbed a season-high five rebounds at UNM, while dishing out a season-high three assists.

Keeping Control
Texas Tech committed just nine turnovers at New Mexico, tying its season low. Tech also had nine turnovers against Idaho in the season opener.

Moore Pours in Career High
Senior Maria Moore poured in a career-high 18 points against UNLV. She was one of four Lady Raiders to score in double figures as senior Dominic Seals had 14 points and juniors Jordan Murphree and Ashlee Roberson both scored 12 points apiece.

She's Baaack!
Junior Jordan Murphree returned to action on Dec. 2, against UNLV. The Brock, Texas, native had missed the prior six games with a back injury. In her first game back, she scored 12 points, tied season-high three rebounds and added season highs of two assists and four steals.

Third Double-Double for Seals
Senior Dominic Seals registered her third double-double of the season and her 12th of her career as she finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds versus the Rebels.

Roberson Knocks Down 3s
Junior Ashlee Roberson knocked down a career-high three three-pointers in the win over UNLV. Her previous high was two, which she had twice in her career.

Season Highs
While playing in the Paradise Jam, Texas Tech recorded season highs in three-point field goal percentage (54.5 vs. USF) and free throw percentage (81.0 vs. California).

Four in Double Digits Against USF
Texas Tech had four players score in double figures in its last game. Senior Keisha Walker scored a season-high 15 points, while junior Ashlee Roberson and senior Tiny Henderson had season highs of 14 and 11 points, respectively. Senior Dominic Seals also added 11 points.

Hitting the Three
Senior Tiny Henderson sank a career-high three three-pointers against South Florida. Her previous career high was two, which happened twice in her career.

Block Buster
Senior Dominic Seals tied her career high of four blocks versus No. 3 California. It was the second time in her career to get four block as the first time was against Texas in the Big 12 Championship in March.

Mallard Grabs Career High
Freshman Kierra Mallard grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Iowa in the first game of the Paradise Jam. Mallard's previous career high was eight against Idaho in the season opener.

Four Score Double Figures Against UTA
Against UTA, senior Dominic Seals led Tech with 15 points, while junior Tilmila Martin, senior Maria Moore and junior Maddy Brown all chipped in 10 points each.

Degree in Hand
Senior Tiny Henderson graduated in August 2008 with a degree in exercise and sports science. Henderson is currently working on a master's degree in sports management.

On the Tube
Texas Tech has 12 regular-season games televised this season. The Lady Raiders will appear 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 host Baylor (Jan. 24) and play at Nebraska (Feb. 14) both on FSN. Tech's seven games on the TTTN include UNLV (W, 75-63), UCLA (Dec. 29), Kansas State (Jan. 21), Oklahoma (Feb. 17), Iowa State (Feb. 28) at Oklahoma (Mar. 4) and Missouri (Mar. 7). The game on Jan. 3, against Arkansas will be televised by Arkansas on the 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)

Lady Raider Basketball with Kristy Curry
Kristy Curry's weekly television show, Lady Raider Basketball with Kristy Curry, will be televised every Sunday starting Jan. 4. The show will air on FOX34 at 10 p.m. and My Lubbock TV at 10:30 p.m.

The Kristy Curry Radio Show
The Kristy Curry Radio Show will be held each Monday starting Jan. 5 from 6-7 p.m. The show will air on KFYO-AM 790 locally. The show will be held at Dion's located at 2721 82nd Street. There will not be a show on Mon., Feb. 2, but rather on Tues., Feb. 3, as the Lady Raiders have a home game on Feb. 2.