Courtesy of LA Tech Athletics
RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech women’s basketball team shot over 53 percent from the field on their way to a wire-to-wire 85-69 win over UTEP on Thursday night inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
LA Tech (10-17, 4-8 CUSA) opened the game, knocking down four of their first five shots to race out to a 10-5 lead at the first media timeout. UTEP (9-16, 4-8) would close the gap to two at 15-13, but the Lady Techsters would take a 19-15 lead into the second quarter.
Tech separated themselves with a 7-0 run in a 1:15 span early in the quarter. However, the Miners responded with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the Techster lead back down 28-24. Consecutive 3-pointers by Paris Guillory and Salma Bates, followed by a basket right before the buzzer by Anna Larr Roberson, gave Tech the 43-32 advantage heading into the locker room.
The third quarter was a high-scoring affair, with both teams trading baskets the majority of the way through. After back-to-back triples by Ivane Tensaie of the Miners cut the lead down to six, it looked like UTEP would grab momentum heading into the final stanza.
Tensaie would miss a layup, and Amaya Brannon worked to grab the rebound with six seconds remaining. Brannon pushed the ball up the court and found Jianna Morris just before half-court. Morris took two dribbles, pulled up from 40 feet, and nailed the shot as the buzzer sounded, pushing the Tech lead back to nine.
The teams traded points for the first half of the fourth before the Lady Techsters closed the game on a 10-3 run.
Louisiana Tech shot a season-best 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from deep and 83.3 percent (20-24) from the line. UTEP finished at 49.0 percent (25-of-51) and 40.0 percent (6-15) from three but just 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the charity stripe.
Roberson led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. Bates chipped in 17 points with six assists and zero turnovers in 35 minutes of action. Morris was the other Lady Techster in double figures with 10 points and no turnovers in 34 minutes.
Jane Asinde was one of three Miners in double figures with 19 and added nine boards. Tensaie and Mariama Sow were the others, with 17 and 12, respectively.
