Courtesty of LA Tech Athletics
RUSTON — Louisiana Tech held off a second-half rally by New Mexico State to come away with a 67-58 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Thomas Assembly Center.
Four Lady Techsters scored in double figures as LA Tech (9-4, 2-0 CUSA) shot 51.1 percent from the field. Robyn Lee had her fourth consecutive game with 15 or more points to lead Tech. Jordan Marshall nearly had a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Techsters opened the game with six points in the first minute and a half of action, forcing New Mexico State (8-7, 1-1) to use a timeout early. Marshall would extend the run to nine with an and-one. LA Tech would increase the lead to double figures on an Averi Aaron jumper in the paint at the 1:20 mark, but the Aggies closed out the quarter on a five-point run.
“I was really proud of our group’s effort today,” Techster head coach Brooke Stoehr said. “They did a really nice job of understanding and executing the scouting report. We knew it would be a physical game and we’d have to be strong with the ball and on the glass. Kaiser is leading the league in scoring and is a really good player for them. It was solid, team effort on the defensive end of the floor today.
“We were able to convert some turnovers into points and our guards did a nice job of playing through paint and attacking. It’s just the first week of conference play but it’s always important to protect home court and get off to a good start. We have to learn from our 3 games this week and come back to work on Monday to prepare for a tough road trip next week.”
The second stanza saw 16 fouls and 23 free throws combined between the two teams. LA Tech would use 12 makes from the charity strip to grow the lead to 33-23 heading into the locker room.
When it looked like LA Tech would start to run away with the game, Paris Bradley picked up her third foul with 7:37 to go in the third. NMSU would take advantage and use a 12-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to take their first lead of the game.
Stoehr decided to put Bradley back in with the risk of her picking up her fourth foul with over a quarter remaining, that decision paid dividends for the Techsters.
With Bradley back in, Marshall quickly put Tech back up with a layup. On the next Aggie possession, Bradley would steal the ball, race down court, go behind the back, and then spin between two defenders to lay it up and give Tech a three-point lead. Lee would push it out to five, and that is where it would be at the end of the quarter after Jianna Morris hit an elbow jumper as time expired.
Tech finally connected on their first three of the game in the fourth when Lee found Sydney Thomas open in the corner to put the lead back into double figures. The Techsters would go up by 15 after another Thomas three with just under five minutes to play. New Mexico State could only put together two small runs to close the gap to the final margin.
LA Tech finished 23-45 from the field, but just 3-10 from long range and 18-31 from the charity stripe. Bradley had 12 points, four assists, and five steals. Morris was the other Techster in double figures at 11. Isla Ariey had six points, five boards, and three blocks.
NM State finished shooting just 19-56 from the field, 5-23 from deep, and 15-19 from the free throw line. Tech’s defense limited the nation’s 13th-leading scorer to just 13 points and five in the second half. Sianny Sanchez-Oliver scored 12 points and Sylena Peterson had 10 for the Aggies. Fanta Gassama was limited to six points but had a game-high 10 rebounds.
