RUSTON, La. - Brooke Lassiter scored a career-high 20 points and Ayana Walker added 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech to a 69-52 win over Chattanooga in the first round of the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Thomas Assembly Center.
The eighth-ranked Lady Techsters used a 16-0 run late in the first half and early in the second to erase an early 10-point deficit and race to a 42-29 advantage. Louisiana Tech Head Coach Leon Barmore praised his starting group.
"We have to get started earlier in the game," Barmore said, referring to Chattanooga's 9-0 lead at the outset. "You aren't going to be able to get down big and come back and beat people. But I will say this. That same group started well the second half. Just as poorly as they started the game, they made up for it and started strong in the second half. We scored the first two or three buckets and that to me might have been the ball game."
Trailing 23-13 with 8:41 remaining in the first half, freshman Amber Obaze and Lassiter combined to score 14 of Tech's next 18 points and when junior Kristie McClain hit a 10 footer with :02 remaining the Lady Techsters took their first lead of the game.
"I really think our kids deserve a lot of credit for winning this game," Barmore said. "We could have easily lost this basketball game. Our team really wanted to win, and they prepared to win."
Tech held the Lady Mocs to only 33 percent from the field (17-of-52) and forced them into 16 turnovers. UTC's leading scorer and 1999-00 Southern Conference Player of the Year Damita Bullock scored 20 points, but was held to 7-of-21 from the field.
"We played a very experienced team, one that knew what it was doing," Barmore said. "Defensively, we were outstanding, though. You leave (Chattanooga) open and they will score 80 points. I thought our defense was outstanding." The inside tandem of Takiesha Lewis and Kenya Bibbs combined to score 18 points, all coming in the second half.
"Given time our post players are going to be outstanding," Barmore said. "I was pleased with everyone who played."
The Lady Techsters outrebounded a much smaller UTC squad 44-35. Tech advances to the second round of the WNIT to face Rice -- who was a 61-56 winner over South Carolina - at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Thomas Assembly Center.
