Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications/Staff Reports
Men’s Basketball
Having not won on the road in two months, Louisiana Tech head coach Talvin Hester decided to make a change in the starting lineup with the insertion of AJ Bates.
All the freshman did was play the entire 40 minutes, scoring 19 points and dishing out seven assists in the process as LA Tech defeated FIU, 82-71, on Saturday afternoon inside the FIU Convocation Center.
“We knew FIU was going to press and so we needed to put more ball handling in the game,” said Hester. “He has done a great job of taking care of the basketball this season, so I went to him. I did not know what I would get as far as offensive production, but I could tell when he was out there, he was following our scout. Excited about his performance.”
Bates was also stellar on the defensive end, recording four rebounds and three steals. Also stepping up was Amaree Abram who also had four boards and three steals to go along with his game-high 20 points as LA Tech (17-7, 6-5 CUSA) never trailed. This after not having one single lead two days prior at Liberty.
LA Tech shot a blistering 60.8 percent from the field (31-51), 45.0 percent from three-point range (9-20), and 84.6 percent from the foul line (11-13). Batcho and Devin Ree were the two other Bulldogs in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
FIU shot 41.9 percent from the field (26-62) and had four Panthers score double-digit points, led by Jayden Brewer with 15.
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Women’s Basketball
Four Louisiana Tech women’s basketball players scored in double figures as the Lady Techsters beat FIU 69-59 to win for the ninth consecutive time inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday.
Paris Bradley led Tech (13-9, 6-5 CUSA) with 17 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Jordan Marshall had her sixth double-double with 16 points and 15 boards. Jianna Morris chipped in 15, and Robyn Lee had 12 points.
“I’m really proud of how the team closed out the game today,” said Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. “They made their run in the 3rd and our group dug in and found a way to get stops and executed offensively. I felt like we were getting some really good looks in that 3rd quarter and they just didn’t go down for us. They remained composed and never let them take the lead.
“Jianna nailed a 3 when they tied it at 53, and we were able to close it out with a nice 16-6 run. I’m really proud of the toughness and resolve this group showed at home this week. We’ll recover and get prepared to hit the road next week”
Louisiana Tech finished 39.7 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from long range, and 68.4 percent from the charity stripe.
FIU shot 41.1 percent for the game but just 26.7 percent from deep and 64.3 percent from the line. Natabou finished with a game-high 26 points and added nine rebounds. Bineta Diatta had 13 points, and Aaliyah Pitts added 11.
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Softball
Louisiana Tech pulled one of the biggest upsets of opening weekend as the Bulldogs defeated 4th ranked Oklahoma State 6-1 in one of their two wins at the highly-competitive Puerta Vallarta Challenge.
It was Tech’s first win against a Top 10 ranked team since 2008.
Tech also defeated NCAA Regional team Northern Colorado 9-4 in the opener on Thursday. The Bulldogs would fall 6-3 and 9-1 to 9th ranked Florida State and 8-4 to North Colorado.
“This team has a lot of fight in them,” said head coach Josh Taylor. “Overall, we are really happy with the weekend. We played five games against regional teams, three against top 10 ranked teams. I think we competed in every game. We are just going to get better and better as we go.
“Obviously, the win against the No. 4 team in the nation is a big win for us, and it definitely helps us with confidence. We’re disappointed in the outcome today, however we’re not disappointed in our competitive nature and we think we made our university and hometown proud this week. This season is looking very bright for us.”
Allie Floyd and Nicole Hammoude earned all-tournament team honors. Floyd pitched complete-games in the wins over Oklahoma State and Northern Colorado while Hammoude batted .500 on the weekend with a team-high 4 RBI.
Tech hosts Arkansas Friday at 6 p.m. in the first game of its three-day home tournament at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
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Tennis
Louisiana Tech claimed two three-setters in singles to cap off a dramatic 4-3 victory over North Texas on a windy Saturday afternoon at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
LA Tech (7-2) continued its strong doubles play as of late to take the opening point and then combined that with hard-fought singles wins on courts one, three, and six to defeat North Texas (3-3) for the first time since 1986.
“Today’s win came down to heart and grit,” said head coach Amy Sargeant. “This team thrived on physicality, toughness, and an unwavering will to win. We knew going into the match it would probably come down to the doubles point. Our focus was to play with confidence and to have a poach-first mindset. Winning that doubles point carried the momentum over into singles, which we knew was going to be a battle.”
Ana Rodrigues and Zoie Epps came into the match having won four straight at the No. 1 position. They made it five straight after pulling out a 6-4 victory.
The Mean Green countered with a win at No. 3, meaning the crucial doubles point would come down to the No. 2 spot where Maria Tsironi and Alice Brook were taking on Lilly Schultz and Stanisla Shulzhenko. The Bulldog freshmen rose to the occasion, breaking serve on the deuce point to also win, 6-4.
Brook, Rodrigues and Tsironi all won their singles matches to help give Tech a win over the Mean Green.
