then went more than seven minutes without a point as Rutgers extended its lead to 67-41. A Lewis free throw with 3:55 to play stopped the scoreless streak for Tech as Weatherspoon emptied her bench in the final five minutes. Lewis led Tech with 16 points and nine rebounds while Shelton added 10 points and Borum eight points. Monique Oliver led Rutgers with 14 points while Chelsea Lee added 11 points as the Scarlet Knights shot 62 percent (32-of-52) for the game. The Lady Techsters pulled down 17 offensive rebounds against the much bigger Rutgers team while also earning 25 trips to the free throw line, where they hit 17. Tech also forced 22 turnovers by Rutgers, recording a seasonhigh 12 steals.
Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston
LSU 77, LA Tech 55 Dec. 16, 2012 Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge Louisiana Tech freshman guard Lulu Perry turned 19 years old on Sunday. However, despite scoring a career-high 18 points, Perry didn’t receive the birthday present she and her Lady Techster teammates were hoping for as LSU muscled past LA Tech 77-55 before 2,718 fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. With the loss, Tech fell to 4-6 on the season as the Lady Techsters are done with their non-conference schedule until opening up Western Athletic Conference play Dec. 29 at Denver. LSU improved to 6-3 and evened up the 28-game series with LA Tech at 14 wins each as the Lady Tigers have now won eight straight. Despite entering the game on a modest two-game winning streak, LA Tech showed
B A S K E T B A L L
For the second straight game, Whitney Frazier came through in the clutch. Two nights after hitting the game winning free throws in the final minute against McNeese State, the sophomore forward completed a conventional three-point play with 11.2 seconds to play to lift Louisiana Tech to a 61-59 win over Oral Roberts Friday night at the Thomas Assembly Center. Trailing 59-58, Tech with less than a minute to play, Tech (4-5) dodged a pair of bullets as ORU missed a pair of shots as guard Janay Borum pulled down the defensive rebound. Instead of calling a timeout to set up a final play, head coach Teresa Weatherspoon opted to let her young team take its best shot. Borum misfired on a 17-footer but Frazier pulled down the offensive rebound and scored off the glass while drawing a foul on Golden Eagle forward Savanna Buck. Frazier capped a 21-point, 6-rebound performance with the free throw to give Tech a two-point advantage. ORU (3-5) had one final chance but Taylor Copper’s three-pointer was off the mark as Tech won for the fourth time this year by three points or less. The game didn’t start well for the Lady Techsters as Jaci Bigham and Kevi Luper combined to help the Golden Eagles jump out to a 14-4 advantage with 14:43 to play in the opening period. However, that’s when the Lady Techsters put it into a different gear as Tech used a 32-10 run over the next eight minutes to grab a 36-24 advantage. Tech led 38-32 at the half as Frazier, Brittany Lewis and Kelia Shelton each had nine points as the Lady Techsters shot 46 percent in the opening half. The biggest story of the night for Tech was
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Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La.
T E C H S T E R
Sophomore guard Kelia Shelton scored a career-high 23 points and Louisiana Tech held McNeese State without a field goal over the final six minutes as the Lady Techsters defeated the Cowgirls 52-50 before 2,205 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center Wednesday night. McNeese State (4-4) took a 46-41 lead on a layup by Caitlyn Baggett with 5:58 to play, but the LA Tech defense then stiffened, holding the Cowgirls to 0-for-9 shooting the rest of the way as the Lady Techsters (3-5) won for the 18th time in the 23-game series. Shelton, playing in only her fifth game of the year, hit 9-of-17 field goals, including 3-of7 three-pointers, and connected on 2-of-4 free throws to help LA Tech overcome 26 turnovers in the victory. The Rock Hill, South Carolina native’s three-pointer with 3:20 to play in the game tied the score at 48-48 and then her spinning offbalance layup with less than two minutes to play tied the game again at 50-50. After neither team could score in their next two possessions, sophomore forward Whitney Frazier hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds to play to give LA Tech the lead. Following a miss by McNeese State guard Caitlyn Baggett with 23 seconds to play, the Cowgirls were forced to foul, sending freshman Lulu Perry to the free throw line. However, Perry missed both free throws and McNeese State had three shots in the final five seconds but the Cowgirls couldn’t get one to fall as Tech won for the 12th straight time in Ruston against McNeese State. The Lady Techsters were victorious despite committing 26 turnovers which led to McNeese State outscoring Tech 15-2 in points off of turnovers. Tech shot 39 percent (20-51) from the field while holding McNeese State to only 27 percent (18-66) and while outrebounding the Cowgirls 46-38. Shelton was Tech’s lone double digit scorer, as she netted 15 points following intermission. Ashlyn Baggett led McNeese State with 22 points but was held to only 9-of-26 shooting on the night. Baggett scored 13 points early as
LA Tech 61, Oral Roberts 59 Dec. 14, 2012
its ability to take care of the basketball as the Lady Techsters registered only 10 turnovers Tech entered the game averaging more than 20 - and outscored ORU 23-8 on points off of turnovers. ORU cut Tech’s lead to one early in the second half at 42-41 on a three-pointer by Luper, who entered the game averaging 23 points per game but who was held to 18 on 7-of-19 shooting. Tech then used an 8-0 run to push the lead back out to 50-41 on a Frazier layup at the 14:44 mark. However, Tech went cold offensively as Oral Roberts fought back and took its first lead since early in the first half when Cooper scored off the glass with 4:13 to play to give the Golden Eagles a 57-56 advantage. After Tech retook the lead on a Frazier layup with just over two minutes to play, Sarah Shelton answered on the other end 20 seconds later giving ORU a 59-58 lead and setting up the final stages for the contest. In addition to Frazier’s big night, Lewis added 13 points while Shelton scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Borum recorded her best game as a Techster with career-highs in points (9), rebounds (8) and assists (5) in 37 minutes of action. Luper scored 18 and Bernadett Balla added 16 points in the loss for ORU.
L A D Y
LA Tech 52, McNeese State 50 Dec. 12, 2012
McNeese State took an 18-11 lead with 8:19 to play in the first half following an 11-0 run by the Cowgirls. Tech answered with a 10-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Janay Borum at the 4:13 mark as the Lady Techsters retook the lead 2120. McNeese State led 26-24 at the break in a game that saw nine ties and 12 lead changes.
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