Jan. 25, 2005

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MISSOURI (7-10, 1-5 Big 12) at #13 Texas Tech (14-3, 5-1)
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - Lubbock, Texas

TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
ARENA: United Spirit Arena (15,050). Opened in 1999. Missouri is 165-186 (.470) all-time on the road, including 0-24 against ranked Big 12 opponents.
RADIO: KWWC-FM 90.5 (David Lile, play-by-play/Kerensa Barr, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: None in Missouri. Game will be televised on Texas Tech TV. Satellite coordinates will be released by the Texas Tech media relations office as they become available.
SERIES: Texas Tech leads, 8-2, including 5-0 in Lubbock. TTU has won the last three games. Cindy Stein is 2-5 against the Lady Raiders, including 0-3 in Lubbock.
RANKINGS: Texas Tech is ranked No. 13 in the Jan. 24 AP poll and No. 11 in the Jan. 18 coaches' poll.
COACHES:
Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 108-89 at MU (seventh season) and 173-114 overall (10th season).
Texas Tech: Marsha Sharp (Wayland Baptist '74), 545-170 at TTU and overall (23rd season).

MIZZOU WOMEN START TEXAS TWO-STEP WEDNESDAY
The Missouri women's basketball team (7-10, 1-5 Big 12) heads southwest to Lubbock, Texas, for a Wednesday-night game at No. 13 Texas Tech (14-3, 5-1). The Tigers, mired in a five-game losing streak, will try to get their first road win against a ranked conference opponent since 1993.

WALKING WOUNDED FIGHTING THROUGH INJURIES
Nagging injuries have taken their toll on what started out as a relatively deep Missouri rotation. Junior F and leading scorer Tiffany Brooks was hobbled with an ankle sprain two weeks ago; junior C Christelle N'Garsanet is nearly recovered from a foot injury; and sophomore F EeTisha Riddle (foot) and freshman G Kassie Drew (leg) are both recovering from stress fractures. Brooks and N'Garsanet are nearly fully healed, while Riddle and Drew continue to play through the effects of their injuries.

ROUGH STARTS CAN HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS
The Tigers are currently on a five-game losing streak, which is MU's longest since a seven-game skid to end the 2001-02 season. Mizzou still made the postseason that year, advancing to the WNIT. The current five-game conference losing streak is the longest since a seven-game stretch: the last five games of the 2002 season, and the first two of 2003. The Tigers also made the WNIT that year, and despite an 0-4 league start last year, Mizzou advanced to its second NCAA Tournament in five years. The Tigers have qualified for the postseason in each of the last five years, which ties a school record from 1982-86.

THE TEXAS TECH SERIES
The merger of the old Southwest and Big Eight conferences didn't bring a start to the Missouri-Texas Tech series. That came in 1994, when an underdog Missouri squad rolled through as a No. 7 seed to the Big Eight Tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were sent to Lubbock for a first-round matchup with the Lady Raiders, which Tech won by a 75-61 margin.
While the teams have split their four meetings in Columbia, Tech has won all four Big 12 meetings in Lubbock by an average of 18 points per game. That includes an 84-50 win by then-No. 8 Texas Tech in their last meeting at United Spirit Arena in 2003. Mizzou's closest loss was six points (74-68) to the then-No. 7 Lady Raiders in 1999, Cindy Stein's first year at Missouri.

SCOUTING THE LADY RAIDERS
Texas Tech, under Head Coach Marsha Sharp in her 23rd season, has four players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore F Alesha Robertson's 15.4 ppg. Senior C Cisti Greenwalt is averaging 9.5 rebounds a game, and junior Erin Grant is dishing out a Big 12-best 6.63 assists a game.
The Lady Raiders lost their first Big 12 game, and first home game, of the season on Saturday with a 55-53 setback to Kansas State. It is just the seventh loss in the six years of United Spirit Arena.

TIGERS LOSING LATE LEADS
Although Missouri is tied for 11th in the Big 12 with a 1-5 record, and has lost its last five games, it should be noted that the Tigers could easily be 5-1 right now. Mizzou has held leads in the second half of four of its five losses, yet has succumbed to opponent runs down the stretch. The bad news is that they're occurring; the good news is that the margins are getting smaller each game. Here is a list of the leads that have been squandered (or trimmed, in the case of Oklahoma State) thus far:

 Lead Clock Opponent Opp. Run Date Result
> 22 19:33 Oklahoma State 21-10 over 9:46 Jan. 5 W, 67-49
> 13 8:26 Nebraska 26-6 over 7:50 Jan. 8 L, 81-74
> 8 11:51 at Iowa State 28-14 over 11:19 Jan. 15 L, 65-59
> 5 15:53 Colorado 24-14 over 15:01 Jan. 18 L, 56-51
> 2 7:19 at Kansas 6-2 over 5:38 Jan. 22 L, 63-61

LAST TIME OUT: KANSAS 63, MIZZOU 61
Aquanita Burras' steal and layup with 78 seconds left provided Kansas' winning margin in a 63-61 win over Missouri in Big 12 Conference action Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

THESE TIGERS YOUNGER, BUT MORE EXPERIENCED
Much has been made of the loss of five experienced seniors from last year's team that led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. Yet a quick look at the stats shows that this year's team, while much younger, is deeper than last. That has allowed the coaching staff to be more flexible with its lineup depending on the game situation. Last year, only six players - with four being seniors - averaged 18 minutes a game or more; this year, that number is up to eight, with just one senior. The current rotation includes five freshmen and sophomores.