Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Lady Techsters 71, Jacksonville State 51 (Saturday in Ruston)
Louisiana Tech capped off another 2-0 week, defeating Jacksonville State 71-51 in the Thomas Assembly Center Saturday afternoon for its eighth win in a row.
“I am really proud of our team today,” said Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. “Once our group slowed down and settled in the first quarter, it felt like we started attacking and playing downhill like we wanted to. KT (Kaleigh Thompson) and Joy (Madison-Key) have been huge off the bench for us and they really help us push in transition.
“It is a great luxury to have four players handle the perimeter they way our guards can. We are still a young team that needs to learn to take care of the ball and get to our spots, but we are starting to understand scout our players have been locked in. We have started to enjoy the dirty work and we are having a lot of fun. They show up with a smile on their face every day and pull for each other, their chemistry just makes this an enjoyable experience.”
Defenses held strong in the first quarter with no points in the first two minutes for either team. After scoring the opening points, Jacksonville State quickly sprung a 7-0 nothing run, the second largest deficit the Lady Techsters have faced in conference play.
Louisiana Tech was ice-cold, starting 0-6 from the field with three turnovers during the run. Thompson’s layup out of the media sparked an 11-2 run to help LA Tech take the lead, capped off by a Jianna Morris buzzer three. Madison-Key made an immediate difference, dishing three assists and having a +9 plus/minus.
Paris Bradley’s layup extended the lead to 17-9, marking 15 unanswered Lady Techsters points. Both teams traded baskets throughout the second with LA Tech’s lead hovering in the double digits. Louisiana Tech would not score in the last two minutes, holding a 30-19 lead heading into the locker rooms.
The third quarter was all Lady Techsters.
The first 10 points were scored by five different scorers and the lead ballooned to as much as 25. While never ripping a run greater than six in a row, LA Tech poured in 30 points in the frame, the most the Lady Techsters have scored in conference play. Morris capped the quarter with another buzzer beating three pointer, taking a 60-36 lead to the benches. Eight different Lady Techsters scored in the frame and shot 78.6 percent from the field as a team, the second highest mark of the season in a quarter. Madison-Key continued to dish the ball at a high rate, racking in four assists.
Louisiana Tech slowed down in the fourth, but the lead only slipped under 20 points once. A last second Jacksonville State layup finalized the score 71-51 Lady Techsters, their eighth win in a row.
The bench for Louisiana Tech continued to shine. Madison-Key assisted a season high eight times, tying Bradley against FIU for the most on the season.
Averi Aaron nearly notched a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Her nine rebounds led the team and is the most rebounds a Lady Techster has grabbed since Aaron had 10 against Delaware.
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Sam Houston 83, Bulldogs 67 (Saturday in Huntsville)
Louisiana Tech’s solid start unraveled after halftime as extended scoring runs and free-throw disparity fueled an 83-67 setback to Sam Houston on Saturday night inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
It was nip-and-tuck through the first 20 minutes, a stanza that included five ties and four lead changes which led to a 34-32 edge for Sam Houston (15-7, 7-4 CUSA). However, the second half was a different story as LA Tech (12-9, 6-5 CUSA) was outscored, 49-35.
The contest was still tight five minutes into the second stanza as a Scooter Williams jumper in the paint got the deficit back to two at 44-42. The Bearkats proceeded to go on a 14-4 run to build their lead to 12 with 10:08 to play.
Sam Houston did not even attempt a field goal in the next five minutes of play but continued to maintain its lead by getting to the foul line. Fifteen of their final 25 points came from the charity stripe, ultimately attempting 36 total for the game (most by a LA Tech opponent since 2022) while making 24.
On the flipside, the Bulldogs were only able to get to the free throw line 19 times, making 12.
DJ Dudley was the top scorer in the game, scoring 21 points. Three other Bulldogs joined him in double figures – Scooter Williams (17), AJ Bates (10), and Melian Martinez (10).
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Bulldog Bowling
The No. 5 Louisiana Tech bowling team finished sixth at the Columbia 300 Saints Invite following bracket play Sunday.
“This weekend definitely could have been better,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “From an average standpoint, we did not bowl poorly, but the scoring pace is where we fell short. Missing spares-especially single-pin spares-was our downfall this weekend.”
LA Tech dropped all three bracket matches, falling to UAB (3-4), No. 4 Nebraska (2-4) and No. 19 McKendree (2-4).
Juliana Kerrigan registered a 200 or higher in all three of today’s matches (221, 215, 204). Jenna Stretch rolled a team-high 235 against Nebraska.
The Bulldogs recorded a total pinfall of 14,070 across 69 games, averaging 203.9 pins per game. Tech was one of three teams in the field to surpass 14,000 total pins at the event.
LA Tech went 5-8 while picking up a ranked win over the host, No. 10 Maryville.
“Throughout the year, we have done a great job of filling frames and stepping up in big moments to win close matches, and we simply did not do that this time,” said Nantais. “This is the first losing weekend we have had in quite a few years, and the tough part is knowing it could have been turned around with just one spare in any of the matches we lost.”
Sacred Heart won the event, followed by Wichita State and Nebraska.
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Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
Tigers 69, Jackson State 66 (Saturday in Jackson)
Grambling State picked up a hard-fought 69-66 road victory over Jackson State on Saturday afternoon at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, as Rickey Ballard drilled a clutch three-pointer in the final seconds to lift the Tigers to their third Southweatern Athletic Conference (SWAC) win of the season.
The Tigers improved to 9-10 overall and 3-3 in conference play, snapping a back-and-forth contest that featured 10 lead changes and five ties. Jackson State fell to 6-15 overall and 5-3 in SWAC action.
Grambling State came out with energy early, using perimeter shooting and defensive pressure to take control in the opening half. Jamil Muttilib scored in transition and knocked down a pair of three-pointers, while Derrius Ward and Roderick Coffee III added timely shots from beyond the arc. The Tigers led by as many as eight points late in the half and carried a 37-32 advantage into the break.
Jackson State answered in the second half behind a dominant performance from Daeshun Ruffin, who finished with a game-high 38 points. The Tigers weathered several JSU runs, leaning on Antonio Munoz inside and Ballard’s shooting to keep the game within reach. Munoz provided a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points and converting multiple baskets in the paint during a key stretch midway through the half.
GSU appeared to seize control when Ward connected on a three-pointer to give the Tigers a double-digit lead, but Jackson State continued to chip away. Ruffin’s three-pointer with 5:15 remaining tied the game at 61-61, setting up a tense final stretch.
With the score knotted at 64-64 and under 20 seconds remaining, Coffee drove and kicked to Ballard on the perimeter. Ballard calmly rose up and buried a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, giving Grambling State a 67-64 lead and silencing the home crowd. After Jackson State converted at the free-throw line, Ward stepped up and knocked down two clutch free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
Ballard finished with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc, as he connected on five three-pointers. Muttilib added 14 points and five assists, while Ward contributed 10 points, five assists and two steals. Coffee III nearly posted a triple-double with six points, eight assists and eight rebounds, helping anchor the Tigers on both ends of the floor.
Grambling State shot 39.3 percent from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers, while holding Jackson State to 28.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Tigers also won the rebounding battle, 41-34, and forced 12 turnovers.
