Courtesy of LA Tech Athletics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Louisiana Tech cut a 15-point first-half deficit to three with two and a half minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but WKU didn’t allow the Lady Techsters to get any closer. LA Tech would fall 69-61 on Thursday afternoon inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
Louisiana Tech (11-7, 4-3 CUSA) traded baskets with WKU (13-5, 4-2) early until the Lady Toppers used a 14-1 run to take a 19-5 lead halfway through the opening quarter. Jianna Morris found her mark and five points over the final three minutes to help the Lady Techsters close the gap to 21-16 at the end of one.
“I’m proud of the way our group fought back today after a tough start to the game,” Lady Techster head coach Brooke Stoehr said. “We settled in defensively after the first 5:00 and started to string some stops together. (Morris) kept us in it and was attacking and aggressive all game. She played with the confidence and command of the basketball she’s proven to have. Jordan was aggressive offensively and rebounded the ball well. They try to force you to play frenetically on the offensive end. We needed to be more poised with the basketball. We had too many turnovers that took away opportunities to score, and it’s hard to win on the road when you do that.
“Our group rebounded the ball well today and was able to string some stops together to get it to a one possession game in the fourth. We have to be that much more disciplined in those situations to not settle offensively for what shots they want us to take and instead hunt the quality shots where we have an advantage. We didn’t play through the paint enough today and missed some opportunities. This group will learn and grow from this experience. We have to turn the page quickly and get ready for Middle Tennessee.”
Jordan Marshall would pull Tech within three 4 minutes into the second. From there, the Lady Toppers would go on a 12-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 39-24 with three minutes to go before halftime. LA Tech would close the half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to seven.
The third quarter would be back-and-forth before WKU scored the final six points of the stanza.
With WKU up 58-48, LA Tech started to work their way back into the game. A jumper by Averi Aaron at the five-minute mark cut the deficit to 58-55 and forced WKU to use a timeout. Aaron would make it a one-possession game again at the 3:27 mark, and a Marshall putback at 2:24 made it a three-point game for the final time.
Louisiana Tech shot 35.6 percent from the field, 19 from behind the arc, and 75 from the charity stripe. Morris led the Lady Techsters with 17 points, connecting on 4-8 from deep. Marshall finished with her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Paris Bradley extended her double-figure scoring output to six games.
WKU finished 44.1 percent from the field, 30.4 from long range, and 71.4 from the line. Destiny Salary led four Lady Toppers in double figures with 17 points. Alexis Mead had 13 points, and Josie Gilvin and Zsofia Telegdy had 12 apiece.
Louisiana Tech’s road trip continues Saturday with a trip to Middle Tennessee. Tipoff is scheduled for noon in the Murphy Center on ESPN+.
