Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications Reports
Lady Techsters 83, Charlotte 79 (2OT)
Keiunna Walker recorded a double double with 27 points and 14 rebounds and Anna Larr Roberson added 21 points to lead the Lady Techsters to a huge 83-79 double overtime road win at Charlotte Saturday.
Lotte Sant added four more three-pointers to chip in with 13 points in the win.
“I can’t give our players enough credit,” said Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. “We had some challenging moments in the third quarter and had chances to end it in regulation, but we came out and big stop after a big stop when we really needed it. You have to tip your hat to Charlotte and Dazia Lawrence; she was incredible.
“The things that stand out in this box score are not the points but Keiunna’s 14 rebounds, and she drew 15 fouls and four charges. Also, Anna Larr was a big presence for us tonight. We didn’t have her against them last time, and having her inside tonight made a big difference, especially in that third quarter.”
With the victory, Tech (16-10, 9-7) won its fourth straight game and moved into a two-way tie for fourth place in the Conference USA standings with only four games remaining in the regular season.
Tech hosts the two two teams in Conference USA this week, including WKU Thursday and Middle Tennessee Saturday.
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Charlotte 74, Bulldogs 67
Louisiana Tech dug itself a hole it could not get out of, falling 74-67 to Charlotte on Saturday afternoon inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
LA Tech (13-14, 6-10 C-USA) dropped its fourth straight game and just like in Thursday’s game, the Bulldogs were not able to put things together on the defensive end.
“We came out with no life,” said Tech head coach Talvin Hester. “My goal when going into the locker room at halftime was to find five guys that wanted to play hard. I found five guys that wanted to fight for Louisiana Tech. We have to find guys that are not interested in what the game does for them and find guys that care about what we do as a team.”
Charlotte (16-11, 7-9 C-USA) shot a blistering 62.2 percent from the field for the game. The 49ers were even hotter in the first half, making 20 of their 29 field goal attempts. It was a half where they put together several runs, including 10 straight points at the end of the stanza to take a 48-30 lead.
Tech rallied in the second half, cutting the 18-point deficit down to 62-59 with 5 minutes remaining before the 49ers hung on for the victory.
The Bulldogs travel to WKU Thursday and Middle Tennessee Saturday.
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Lady Techster Softball goes 4-1
The Lady Techsters posted a 4-1 mark over the weekend at the Mardi Gras Mambo in Youngsville.
Head coach Josh Taylor’s team defeated Toledo (4-2), Manhattan (10-2), Florida A&M (5-1) and Gardner-Webb (6-1) while falling to St. Thomas (3-0).
“Our pitching was really good this weekend,” said Taylor. “They were the reason we were able to go 4-1. All of our pitchers threw really well which is really encouraging early in the season.
“Offensively we struggled through the first four games but (Sunday) was much better. We had more quality at-bats and got into better counts which produced better results. If we can continue to do that moving forward I think we will be okay.”
The Lady Techsters host LSU Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
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BYU 10, Bulldogs 1
Bulldogs 8, BYU 6
BYU 8, Bulldogs 2
The Bulldogs plated six runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to rally for an 8-6 win over BYU in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
BYU won Friday’s opener 10-1 and Saturday’s nightcap 8-2. The two teams will play the fourth and final game of the series tonight at 6 p.m.
“In three games, BYU has 41 hits,” said Tech coach Lane Burroughs. “We are not doing a good job of missing barrels. They are a good hitting team. They are getting hits and forcing us to make plays. It makes it tough on our hitters when you come to bat already behind the eight ball. We just are not playing really good baseball right now. We will get there. We are playing a good team. We have to come out Monday and find a way to split this series.”
Dalton Davis and Phil Matulia hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday to pull the Bulldogs to within 6-5 and then Cole McConnell and Davis had RBI hits in the bottom of the eighth to give Tech the lead.
Alec Sparks had nine strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief for the Bulldogs in the win.
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Wichita State 6, LA Tech 1
Leonie Schuknecht remained undefeated on the season, but the Lady Techsters saw their five-match winning streak snapped in a loss to the Shockers.
Five of the 12 singles sets went at least 12 games and two of the six courts split sets as LA Tech (6-2) lost to a Wichita State (5-2) team that was a day removed from nearly upsetting highly-touted Tulsa.
After dropping the opening two games to Jessica Anzo, the Schuknecht won six of the next seven games to take the first set and then finished things off with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
In the process of tying the match up at 1-1, Schuknecht improved to a perfect 7-0 in dual singles this spring (15-3 during the 2022-23 season).
LA Tech will play two matches today, starting at 10 a.m. against Oral Roberts. The Lady Techsters will turn around and face No. 21 Oklahoma State at approximately 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Bernis Duke Tennis Center.
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Track and Field at C-USA Championships
The Louisiana Tech men’s and women’s Track & Field team wrapped up the 2023 Conference USA Indoor Championships in style, grabbing three podiums and posting six more PRs, bringing the championship weekend’s total to four top-three finishes and 17 personal bests.
The two-day event was highlighted by Ulanda Lewis’s gold medal in the Women’s 60m. Lewis, a freshman from St. Vincent and The Grenadine, became the first LA Tech woman to win the 60m final since Kimberly Smith in 2013. Lewis smashed her previous personal best from yesterday’s qualifying round (7.47) with a 7.36, which tied for the seventh fastest time in program history.
“Ulanda is a special person, and she showed up today and performed very well,” said Director of Track & Field Brian Johnson. “I am extremely grateful to have her on our team.”
LA Tech narrowly missed a clean sweep in the event, with Rodney Heath Jr. taking silver in the men’s 60m final, tying his best of 6.64, which also ties his program record time. Heath Jr., a Kentucky transfer from Cincinnati, Ohio, has recorded four of the ten fastest times in program history (6.64, 6.64, 6.67, 6.67) in the last three weeks and has the 25th fastest time in the country this season.
On the first day of the event, senior Johannon Murray captured third place in the women’s pentathlon. The Tyler, Texas native posted third-place finishes in three events in the shot put (11.33m), 60m H (9.01), and high jump (1.57m), and a registered top-five finishes in the long jump (5.34m) and 800m (2:32:96).
LA Tech men finished seventh overall as a team with 26 points, while the women finished ninth overall with 28 points.
“I am so happy with this weekend and how we performed as a team,” said Johnson. “We still have a ton of work left to do, but we are dedicated as a team to improving and are excited about our future here.”
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Lady Techster Bowling
The Louisiana Tech women’s bowling team claims second at the Arkansas State-hosted Mid-Winter Invitational.
“This weekend showed what we are capable of when we work together as a team,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “Our energy was high. Our shot making was really good and our spare shooting was better. This field was one of the best that we bowled in this year, and we stepped up big-time.
“We have a couple weeks off before our next event which will give us some time to rest and fine-tune our games a little more. Wednesday we will find out where we will be bowling or sectional event to qualify for the USBC championships. Danielle and Averi both making the all-tournament team in this field was a big accomplishment.”
LA Tech finished day one 4-1 with 5,306 total pins to put them in second place after Baker play. The Lady Techsters began the day by defeating Wisconsin Whitewater 1,159-962 in match one before taking match two 1,1840-956 over No. 5, SFA. Tech fell in match three 1,101-985 to No. 8, Maryville, but came back with a 1,008-933 win over Tusculum followed by a 970-949 win against Central Missouri to finish the day off.
The Lady Techsters came out ready to go on day two. Tech faced off with No.1 McKendree and was able to take them down 1,143-1,061 in the first match of traditional play. The Lady Techsters then fell 987-954 against Kentucky Wesleyan but came back with another huge victory over No. 2, Nebraska 1,101-1.096. Tech continued with another win over Wisconsin Whitewater before adding 1,052 pins in their bye-match.
Sitting in the No.2 seed to start bracket play, the Lady Techsters played the No.1 seeded, McKendree, but fell 1-4. The Lady Techsters then faced off with the host, Arkansas State, and came out with a 4-3 win to advance them into the championship match. In a championship, Tech lost 4-1 to McKendree to claim second place.
