Techsters use balanced effort to topple Owls

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech (15-9, 6-5 C-USA) got back to its winning ways in dominant fashion Wednesday night as three Lady Techsters reached double figures in a 75-55 victory over Rice (17-4, 7-2 C-USA) before 2,039 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Lady Techsters shot 61 percent (31-of-51) from the field on Wednesday and forced 20 turnovers to snap Rice’s four-game winning streak and hand the Owls just their second loss in Conference USA play this season. Louisiana Tech out-scored the Owls, 23-13, in the fourth quarter and led for more than 37 minutes in Wednesday’s contest.

“We had great energy that really started from the tip and I thought we defended really well,” head coach Brooke Stoehr said. “I just can’t say enough about our bench. Everyone contributed and our energy was great over there. We had balance offensively. We talked before the game about creating offense with our defense and we had 20 turnovers that led to 32 points for us, and I thought that was big.”

It was an impressive shooting effort for Louisiana Tech on the night as the Lady Techsters were led by Kierra Anthony, who scored 20 points with five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Alexus Malone scored 17 on the night, 10 of which came in the first half, while also leading the Lady Techsters with seven rebounds, five assists and also recording three steals in just 26 minutes on the court.

Taylor Stahly enjoyed a stellar second half with 11 of her 14 total points coming in the third and fourth quarters, while the junior guard was 4-for-6 from three-point range and added three assists and two steals. Stahly has now hit at least one three-pointer in all 24 games this year, which marks the longest streak by a Lady Techsters since current head coach Brooke Stoehr hit one in 25 straight games (2000-02).

In the first half, Louisiana Tech shot 60 percent (15-25) from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, to take a 35-25 lead into halftime, while the Techsters led by as many as 14 midway through the second quarter. The Lady Techsters had a balanced attack in the first half with eight of the nine players scoring, paced by Malone, who led LA Tech in points (10), rebounds (5), assists (4) and steals (3) in the opening two quarters.

LA Tech held Rice, a team known for its three-point shooting ability, to 27 percent (3-of-11) in the first half, while the Lady Techsters forced nine Owl turnovers before halftime.

Rice cut the Lady Techsters halftime lead to six in the third after going on an 8-0 run before the midway point of the quarter. The Owls went on a streak of four straight made field goals toward the end of the third quarter, cut LA Tech’s lead to 46-42 with 2:50 left in the period, but the Lady Techsters responded quickly, extending the lead back to 10 after a 6-0 run before the start of the fourth.

Rice entered the game ranked No. 1 in C-USA in three-point field goals made per game (8.8), but the Lady Techsters held the Owls to 6-of-18 from deep. The Owls were led by Erica Ogwumike, who scored 20 points in the loss with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

LA Tech now leads the all-time series over Rice, 14-8, including a 10-1 record in Ruston. The Lady Techsters have also won three straight over the Owls after sweeping the season series last year.

The Lady Techsters return to action Saturday when they travel to El Paso, Texas to face UTEP in a game set to tipoff at 2 p.m. CT.