FRISCO, Texas — Conference USA Western Division Champion. Second team All-Conference USA.
Lady Techster sophomore Anna Larr Roberson was home grown for the home team.
The 6-foot-3-inch forward was an all-state two-sport athlete at Cedar Creek High School, where for the longest time, she leaned towards playing softball on the collegiate level.
But, that mindset changed late in her high school career.
And now, Roberson gets to live her dream of playing basketball right in front of her friends and family, all the while being a major contributor to a team with a rich history of success.
“(Louisiana Tech head coach Brooke) Stoehr told me from the beginning that we are very family-oriented, and that she wanted this team to feel like home for me,” said Roberson, who scored 44 points – the fifth most in a single game in program history – against Rice just two weeks ago. “She said she wanted the coaches and players to get to know my family personally. That was a big aspect for me, and it sold it for me that staying in Ruston was the right decision for me.”
For Stoehr, she saw something in Roberson while recruiting her that not a lot of people would have seen in a player graduating from such a school with a small classification like Cedar Creek.
“We saw in Anna Larr an ability to communicate and lead on both the basketball court and softball field,” Stoehr said. “She had a way about her that exuded confidence and made others around her better while holding them accountable. She had a businesslike approach to how she went about things on and off the court. Anna Larr had really good touch and could move and get in a stance. She’s obviously continued to work and get better each year and has developed a different aspect of her game as she’s been in the program.”
In high school Roberson led her team to a district title as a senior after averaging 22 points and 13 rebounds per game. She was named first team all-district four times as well as all-state.
“We are very proud of Anna Larr,” her high school head coach Gene Vandenlangenberg said. “She has worked very hard, and I am not surprised at all that she is doing well. She has the athleticism, talent, and willingness to work and develop her skills to get better each year that she’s played.”
Roberson echoed that playing at a high level for a prestigious program has not come without challenges.
“Louisiana Tech runs in my family, and it’s special for me to be here,” Roberson said. “It’s definitely an honor to play for a program that has such a history in women’s basketball. It did not come easy, and I had to work my tail off. But with that and the belief that my coaches and teammates have in me, I am just so grateful.”
All of that hard work for Roberson has begun to pay off as the Techsters finished first in the western division of Conference USA with a final score win of 82-56 over UAB at home on Saturday in the regular season finale.
Tech’s success this season has certainly been helped by Roberson’s season stat line, where she finished as the only player in CUSA this season to average more than 15 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line.
And it has led to an incredibly special moment for Stoehr and the rest of the team. As the Lady Techsters were cutting the nets to celebrate the division title, Roberson and junior Kieunna Walker both symbolically held the ladder for all of their teammates to climb and cut their own pieces of the net.
“It was an amazing example of servant leadership and who they are for our group,” Stoehr said. “We have a team full of great teammates and it really starts with those two and how they lead with their effort and selfless nature. They have embodied our core values and mantra of ‘great TEAMS have great TEAMMATES.’ I am so very proud of their leadership and example for our younger players and future players.”
Roberson and the rest of the Techsters will have the chance to move forward in the 2021-22 Conference USA Tournament as they will play the UAB Blazers for the third time this season. Tech has swept the Blazers in the regular season.
Tip-off from the Ford Center at the Star is set for 1:30 p.m. Fans can hear the game on 97.7 FM and the Louisiana Tech Athletics app with the pregame show starting at 1 p.m.
