Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
After being presented a honorary game ball for her 1000th career point during pregame, Tech senior Anna Larr Roberson recorded her 19th career double double to lead the Lady Techsters to a 70-59 win over Alcorn State Saturday at the TAC.
Tech (6-2) won despite committing a season-high 24 turnovers, extending their regular-season non-conference winning streak to 18 games.
“I thought there wasn’t much flow to the game with all the turnovers and fouls, it was a very choppy,” said Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. “That being said I thought we defended and rebounded really well in the first half but we didn’t do a good job taking care of the ball. We didn’t defend nearly as well in the second half, but we did a great job at the free throw line to close out the game.
In a game that saw a combined 45 turnovers, 46 fouls, and 57 free throws, LA Tech (6-2) used a 30-35 night form the line to keep a pesky Alcorn State team at arm’s length after building an 18-point cushion in the first half.
Tech used a 12-2 start to the day thanks to 10 early forced turnovers but committed nine of their own, leading to six quick points for Alcorn State (2-4). The Braves used an 8-2 run to close the quarter with Tech up eight, 18-10.
LA Tech would build their largest lead of the day (31-13) with 6:22 left in the first half off a Mackenzie Wurm jumper, but both teams would finish the final five-plus minutes without a field goal.
Roberson hit one of her nine free throws on the day with 1:05 left in the half to give Tech a 32-16 advantage at the break. Roberson picked up her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, including 9-12 from the line.
Lotte Sant hit one of her three three-pointers en route to a season-high 13 points to give Tech another 18-point lead, but Alcorn State began their second half charge with a 90-second, 7-0 run at the four-minute mark and cut Tech’s lead to 10 by the end of the third, 47-37.
“I feel like we took a breath and relaxed,” said Stoehr. “You have to give credit to Alcorn for continuing to play and fighting the entire game. Winning is hard, no matter who you play or where you play them so it’s nice to come out with the win. We are excited about that and proud of our team for getting it done, but we will have to come back, get focused, and clean some things up to get ready for Vanderbilt next Thursday.”
The game reached single digits on two occasions in the fourth at 50-41 and 53-44, thanks to back-to-back threes by Alcorn State, but Tech’s composure at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, hitting 17-19 in the final stanza, kept Alcorn State at bay in the final minutes.
Keiunna Walker and Salma Bates joined Roberson and Sant in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Walker and Bates combined for 14-15 from the line and were responsible for the Techsters’ final 11 points.
Tech was held under 40 percent shooting for just the second time this season but held their opponents to under 38 percent for the sixth time and forced 21 turnovers while going plus-15 on the boards (38-23).
The Lady Techsters are now just four wins away from No. 600 in Ruston.
