RUSTON – They say when you are in a shooting slump, the best way to get out of it is to keep shooting. That is precisely what Salma Bates did in Louisiana Tech’s 49-47 win over Alcorn State Saturday afternoon inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
The fifth-year senior was just 3-26 from long range in her last three games but remained confident and finished 4-9 from deep, including the game-winner with 38 seconds remaining against the Braves.
“I am really proud of our group for finding a way to win,” Lady Techster head coach Brooke Stoehr said. “It wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day, they found a way to make a play down the stretch offensively and defensively to secure a win. I don’t care who we’re playing or where it is; winning is hard at any level. Sometimes, you get in a rut, and breaking out of that is hard, so they need to experience that. I’m really proud of them for finding a way.
“It was a tough day offensively for us. We struggled to score there in that first half. That second quarter was tough. We got several good looks, but they didn’t go down. We got offensive rebounds, didn’t make a putback, and missed layups, but they stayed in it. That’s the one thing about this group: when things haven’t gone well, they haven’t put their head down and pouted; they haven’t quit.”
LA Tech (3-9) used the inside game to help set up the deep ball. Anna Larr Roberson finished with a game-high 15 points and six rebounds, while Bates finished with 14.
Alcorn (2-6) opened the game, knocking down three of their first five shots to take a 6-3 lead four minutes into the game. The Lady Techsters’ defense stepped up and forced the Lady Braves to just 2-7 shooting the rest of the quarter to take a 15-11 advantage after one.
The shots didn’t fall to Tech in the second quarter, allowing Alcorn to take a 24-21 lead into halftime.
The home team never gave up and focused on not letting the third quarter hinder their chances for the win. The defense forced Alcorn into six turnovers that turned into seven points, and the Lady Techsters cut into the lead heading into the final stanza.
The fourth quarter started slowly, with the teams combining for just two points in the first three minutes. The Lady Braves used a 6-0 run over a two-minute stretch to regain a three-point lead and force Tech to call a timeout. Roberson would come out of the timeout and power to give the Lady Techsters a chance with a minute reaming down 47-46.
After Roberson’s shot went in, the Lady Techsters used a full-court press to force a turnover. Jianna Morris was able to throw the ball off the Alcorn player, giving the ball right back to the Lady Techsters. That would lead Morris to find Bates in the corner in front of the Lady Techsters bench for the game-winner.
Alcorn shot 45 percent from the field (22-49), with Nakia Cheatham leading the way with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Zy’Nyia White added 10, and Tyginae Wright had seven.
