Techsters drop 74-70 decision at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss guard Shonte Hailes scored 33 points and Louisiana Tech couldn’t overcome 19 turnovers as the Lady Techsters fell 74-70 Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.

Tech (14-13, 6-8) built an early 13-point lead in the opening quarter before Southern Miss (16-11, 8-6) outscored the Lady Techsters in each of the final three quarters of play.

Two weeks after eclipsing the century mark against USM in a 106-85 win in Ruston, the Lady Techsters weren’t nearly as crisp offensively. The Golden Eagles scored 28 points off Tech turnovers in the win.

Kierra Anthony scored 9 of her team-high 24 points in the opening quarter as Tech built an 18-10 advantage through the opening 10 minutes of play. The second quarter saw Tech hold a 32-24 advantage with just two minutes to play before USM ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to close the gap to 34-31 at halftime.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the third quarter. USM took its first lead of the game on a Hailes layup that made the score 39-38 Golden Eagles. USM led 47-41 on a Camille Anderson bucket with 2:19 to play in the third quarter before the Lady Techsters responded with a 9-2 run that included one of five Taylor Stahly second half three-pointers.

Tech led 50-49 after Amber Dixon hit three free throws with 5 seconds to play in the quarter. However, USM guard Daishai Almond banked home a running 28-footer at the buzzer to give the Golden Eagles a 52-50 lead.

Another Stahly three-pointer with 6:48 to play in the game gave Tech its last lead at 58-57 before Hailes ignited a 10-0 run which included back-to-back three-pointers by the USM guard.

Tech pulled to within 69-67 after a pair of Anthony free throws with 17 seconds to play, but that was as close as the Lady Techsters would get as USM hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.

Stahly added 15 points and Bre Harris scored 10 points for Tech. Grayson Bright pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as Tech outboarded USM 34-28.