A new season and a new team.
Guard Amber Battle, Forward Kelsi Baker and Guard Audrisa Harrison were seniors last year and have graduated.
Guard Minta Spears has transferred to Vanderbilt and will play for the Commodores. She is attending Graduate school at Vandy and has two years of NCAA eligibility.
Sophomore Center Jocelyn Mousty transferred closer to home and will play for Indiana University Southeast. Mousty will have two years of eligibility for the Grenadiers.
Freshman Post Courtney Vaccher played in four of the games last season and has transferred to the University of Nebraska Omaha. Due to restriction Vaccher will redshirt the 2015-16 season and then have three years eligibility to play for the Mavericks.
I will miss watching Amber Battle play. She was such an exciting player to watch and she never gave up and always pushed to finish the play and hopefully get the basket. Battle did try out for the WNBA but was not chosen in the draft. There were only 32 open spots none of the WNBA teams picked Battle. She is playing in the European Basketball leagues .
Returning to the 2015-16 team are seven Lady Raiders.
Guard Ivonne CookTaylor (RS JR 5-8): She had a great 2014-15 season.
Her ending numbers were: 9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 30 Assists, 46 TO, and 39 Steals
Guard Ryann Bowser (SR, 5-8): She had the following stats and is a great defender.
Her ending numbers were: 1.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 25 Assists, 39 TO, and 23 Steals
Guard Rayven Brooks (SR, 6-0): She was one of the best free-throwers and at Steals.
Her ending numbers were: 7.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 60 Assists, 84 TO, 25 Blocks and 47 Steals
Forward Dayo Olabode (SO, 6-2): She was the best rebounder on the squad last season.
Her ending numbers were: 7.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 17 Assists, 66 TO, 18 Blocks and 17 Steals
Forward Paige Parliament (SR, 6-1): She only played in 7 games and was perfect at FTs.
Her ending numbers were: 0.3 ppg, 1 rpg, 2 Assists, 4 TO and 1 Steal
Forward Jamie Roe (SR, 5-10): She has a lot of energy on the court.
Her ending numbers were: 3.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 33 Assists, 41 TO, and 32 Steals
Center Ionna McKenzie (6-2, SO): She had an up and down season but played hard.
Her ending numbers were: 1.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 6 Assists, 20 TO, and 10 Steals
Additions to the Lady Raiders:
Forward Brielle Blaire (SO, 6-2) from Salisbury, N.C., North Rowan HS
Guard Recee’ Caldwell (SO, 5-8) from San Antonio, TX, Homeschooled
Guard Larryn Brooks (JR, 5-6) from Richmond, KY, Madison Central HS
Center Jada Terry (JR, 6-4) from Cedar Hill, TX, Cedar Hill HS
Guard Japreece Dean (FR, 5-6) from Cedar Park, TX, Vista Ridge HS
Center Leashja Grant (JR, 6-2) from Nassau, Bahamas, Sunrise Christian Academy
Forward Zuri Sanders (FR, 6-0) from Evansville, IN, Evansville Central HS
Changes to the Coaching Staff:
The Lady Raiders had some shake-ups in the coaching staff this season too.
Assistant Coach Damitria Buchanan left the program and is now coaching at the University of Kansas.
Video Coordinator Kiel Unruh is now an Assistant Coach at Emporia State University.
There is a new Assistant Coach Ray Caldwell who has an extensive background in coaching and training basketball players.
The Lady Raiders added a Strength and Conditioning Coach, Tyson Carter He had been tied to the Olympic Sports teams at Tech but will now be part of the women’s basketball and tennis teams exclusively.
And the final new addition is Sports Dietitian Dayna McCutchin .
Make note this season of new NCAA Rule Changes:
1 – Four Quarters per game instead of Two halves
2– Three 30-second time-outs and one 60-second time out per game
3 – Advance the ball following a time-out after a made basket beginning at 0:59 second mark of the 4th Quarter
4 – There is not a 1 and 1 anymore, two foul shots for every foul after the fifth foul of each quarter
5 – Post defender can place forearm/open hand on opposing player’s back
The quarters vs halves will require more time-clock management on the team coaching staffs and players will need to be more aware of last minute shots and situational awareness. The “ball advancement” in the 4th quarter will favor those teams that are behind.
What has happened in the Pre-Conference games and the first Big12 Conference game of the season:
Current record: 9-3, 0-1 Big12
Home Games: 8-1, 0-1 Big12
Away Games: 0-1, 0-0 Big12
Neutral Games: 1-1, 0-0 Big 12
| GAME DATE | GAME LOCATION | FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 11-13-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 79, Niagara 45 |
| 11-21-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 113, Southeastern Louisia 51 |
| 11-24-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 79, Idaho State 64 |
| 11/27/15 | South Point Arena Las Vegas NV | Texas Tech 62, FORDHAM 48 |
| 11/28/15 | South Point Arena Las Vegas, NV | Washington 77, Texas Tech 73 |
| 12-2-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 71, Abilene Christian 65 |
| 12-9-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 78, Idaho 62 |
| 12/12/15 | Leavey Center, Santa Clara, Calif. | Santa Clara 75, Texas Tech 70 |
| 12-14-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 70, Incarnate Word 55 |
| 12-18-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 70, Grambling State 55 |
| 12-20-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | Texas Tech 84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 40 |
| 12-30-15 | Lubbock, TX (USA) | TCU 78, Texas Tech 69 |